Lawrence delivers firm statement amid Steelers trade rumors

We are a little more than a week into the NFL’s offseason and while players are disconnecting from football, rumors are always going to swirl as teams look to build a winning roster for next year. Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence’s name got swept into those trade rumors, but he quickly brought calm to Jags fans letting them know he has no desire to go anywhere.

Lawrence surprised to hear trade rumors

The Jags are coming off of a disappointing season which saw Lawrence miss the final portion of the season with a concussion, and their coach Doug Pederson get the axe after a finishing the year 4-13. Even before Lawrence was knocked out for the season in early December, he and Jacksonville were struggling to win games.

Just days after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, there were reports coming out of Pittsburgh suggesting the Steelers had asked the Jags if they have an interest in trading their franchise player. A report which Lawrence didn’t know about until his agent alerted him.

“That’s funny. You know, I didn’t really see anything. My agent texted me and … said, ‘Hey, this is a report that is out there. I don’t think there’s anything to it, but I’ll check into it,’” Lawrence said. “So I saw it, and it’s funny though. Like, when he sent it to me, I was like, I wouldn’t say your heart drops, but you’re kind of like, what? And then I’m thinking about how I can’t even get -- I have a no-trade clause in my contract, so I would know about it if I was getting traded, or if that was something that was gonna happen, you know, I’d have to be on board with it. Which I’m not.”

The face of the franchise

The Steelers brought in two veteran quarterbacks last offseason after letting go of Kenny Pickett, who they drafted back in 2022. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields both got time under center, and despite Wilson leading the Steelers to the playoffs, their offense faded late in the season, and they were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

Jacksonville invested heavily in their quarterback last year, making him the highest paid QB in the league with a five year, $275 million dollar extension last year. With the Jags in a bit of a rebuilding phase, Lawrence is going to be their reference moving towards the future.

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“I’m happy here in Jacksonville. I plan on, you know, we want to win a Super Bowl here, and I think we can do that. And I don’t want to leave Jacksonville. So I’m happy here, obviously not going to Pittsburgh.”

Lawrence was selected with the Jags No.1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In that time Jacksonville have had two winning seasons, made the playoffs once, but have an overall record of 25-43.