QB Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars agree to a 5-year, $275M contract extension, AP source says (2024)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars agreed Thursday to a five-year, $275 million contract extension that makes him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in NFL history, according to a person familiar with negotiations.

Lawrence’s deal includes $142 million guaranteed and a $37.5 million signing bonus. Lawrence will get an average of $55 million annually during the deal, tying him with Cincinnati's Joe Burrow for the most in NFL history.

The lucrative bump comes nearly a month after Detroit gave Jared Goff a four-year extension worth $212 million that made him the second-highest paid quarterback in the league. Goff’s average salary is $53 million.

Lawrence is now the sixth QB making more than $50 million a year, joining Burrow, Goff, Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts. Lawrence is the 14th player to top $40 million annually, and he’s the youngest on the list.

The 24-year-old is 21-31 as a starter in three seasons, including 1-1 in the playoffs, and has a whopping 60 turnovers in three seasons. The Georgia native and former Clemson star has completed nearly 64% of his passes for 11,770 yards, with 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. He also has 11 rushing scores and 21 fumbles lost.

The Jaguars point to a 19-game stretch spanning the 2022-23 seasons in which Lawrence was at his best. He threw for 4,713 yards, with 29 TDs and 11 INTs, as Jacksonville went 14-5 during that span. General manager Trent Baalke and coach Doug Pederson believe it’s a glimpse of what Lawrence can do when healthy and humming.

But he’s coming off an injury-filled season that Baalke called "alarming."

The top pick in the 2021 draft missed the first game of his professional career following a sprained right shoulder sustained in Week 16 at Tampa Bay.

Lawrence also missed significant practice time because of other injuries: a sprained left knee in Week 6, a sprained right ankle in Week 13 and a concussion in Week 15.

The injury woes played a part in the worst late-season collapse in franchise history. The Jaguars dropped five of their final six games and missed the postseason after spending three months atop the AFC South.

Lawrence seemingly regressed because of the injuries. He threw for 4,016 yards, with 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He also ran for four scores, lost seven fumbles and was sacked a career-high 35 times.

Reunited in Tampa

Baker Mayfield jumpstarted his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now, the quarterback is hoping to help a former college teammate do the same.

Sterling Shepard, the ex-New York Giants receiver who played with the No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft at Oklahoma, was contemplating retirement before signing a one-year contract, providing an opportunity for a fresh start with the Bucs.

Mayfield arrived in Tampa Bay on a one-year, prove-it deal in 2023 and had his best season as a pro while resurrecting a career that stalled after stints with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.

With the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner throwing for personal bests of 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns, the Bucs surged late to win a third consecutive NFC South title and make the playoffs for a franchise-record fourth straight season.

The Bucs rewarded Mayfield with a three-year contract that could be worth up to $115 million.

Without a couple of receivers this offseason because of injuries, the 29-year-old quarterback reached out to his old teammate to gauge Shepard's interest in a possible reunion.

Shepard was a second-round draft pick of the Giants in 2016 and had 372 receptions for 4,095 yards and 23 TDs in 90 games (74 starts) over eight seasons in New York. He had 66 catches for 872 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, however injuries have limited his production two of the past three seasons.

Another new offense

Justin Herbert having to learn a new playbook and working with a different offensive coordinator in college and the NFL has become a familiar routine.

Herbert, along with many Los Angeles Chargers fans, are hoping that the new regime of coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman will be around for awhile.

As the Chargers wrapped up their offseason program on Thursday, Herbert was pleased with what he was able to accomplish in the past couple of months.

“Greg has done a great job of installing it and demonstrating exactly what he sees from the offense,” Herbert said. “It's definitely a complex, difficult offense to learn, but we've done our best to pick it up. A lot has been thrown at us, but with the way we've picked it up and attacked it, I'm looking forward to running it.”

Roman is the fourth offensive coordinator Herbert has worked with since he was the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft. He also had three offensive coordinators during his four seasons at Oregon.

Harbaugh is the

Raiders have questions

The Las Vegas Raiders ended minicamp after Thursday's final practice with questions at quarterback, offensive line and cornerback.

At QB, the Raiders signed free agent Gardner Minshew to a two-year contract to compete with Aidan O'Connell, who as a rookie started the second half of last season.

The main argument for O'Connell to retain the job is Las Vegas went 5-4 after he became the full-time starter, and he showed improved decision-making in throwing eight touchdown passes with no interceptions over final four games. But O'Connell hasn't proven he is willing to take chances often enough to elevate an offense.

The offensive front is largely intact, but that doesn't mean there aren't questions.

At right tackle, Thayer Munford replaces Jermaine Eluemunor, who signed with the New York Giants. Another question involves second-round pick Jackson Powers-Johnson, who played center at Oregon but is working at left guard. He hurt his shoulder and did not participate in OTAs over the final two week.

At cornerback, losing Amik Robertson in free agency to the Detroit Lions created quite a void. Brandon Facyson has been working in Robertson's old spot. Jakorian Bennett, drafted last year in the fourth round, has been with the second-teamers.

These questions will be addressed when the Raiders open training camp July 23.

BRIEFLY

FALCONS: Atlanta was stripped of a fifth-round pick in next year’s draft for violating the NFL’s anti-tampering rules prior to signing quarterback Kirk Cousins. The Falcons and Cousins agreed on a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed shortly after the league’s 52-hour legal tampering window opened.

DOLPHINS: Calais Campbell has agreed to join Miami for his 17th NFL season, according to an AP source. The six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman will join his fifth team and add experience and depth to a Dolphins group looking for a third-straight playoff berth. Campbell had 6 1/2 sacks and 17 quarterback hits in 17 games with Atlanta last season.

SAINTS: It's unclear whether New Orleans star running back Alvin Kamara or top receiving tight end Juwan Johnson will take part in the opening of training camp late next month. Kamara's agent said his departure was contract related. Johnson is dealing with a foot injury.

JETS: New York signed defensive lineman Takkarist McKinley after he had a tryout with the team during its two-day minicamp. McKinley was the 26th overall pick by Atlanta in 2017 and has 20 career sacks, but hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2022.