Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is indeed on a limited schedule this spring. He’s still on the mend from surgery to repair the torn AC joint in his left shoulder. On December 17, the surgeon did my surgery. This procedure was required to repair a labrum injury in the opposite shoulder, which had previously been repaired in February of 2021. As Lawrence continues to recover, he aims to refine his footwork—a key area of focus highlighted by Jaguars coach Liam Coen.
Lawrence’s ability to take part in the team’s offseason curriculum has been limited. Doubts surrounding his physicality were duly noted after the Jaguars’ rookie minicamp in 2021. His previous injury issues limited him from being able to participate in OTAs as well. This year, player health and performance vice president Jeff Ferguson is keeping a special eye on the young quarterback. His personal strength coach, Will Wynkoop, is following him around with a similarly watchful eye. The Jaguars haven’t decided how much throwing Lawrence will do during his recovery.
Even with all these hurdles though, Lawrence remained hopeful about his journey. He has shown a willingness to improve his footwork in individual workouts at home and in-facility workouts.
“I think they’ve done a really good job of this [offensive] system of really thinking through how does it tie into a quarterback’s feet,” said Trevor Lawrence.
The Jaguars’ coaching staff has emphasized the importance of improving Lawrence’s footwork to bolster his performance on the field. While it’s important to make creative plays, Coach Coen emphasized the importance of having solid fundamentals that players can rely on in clutch, game-winning scenarios.
“If you can have core fundamentals and footwork that you believe in and that you trust in those times of crisis, you have something to actually fall back on and play with a quieted mind,” remarked Liam Coen.
Lawrence admitted that improving his footwork is a focus that needs to be worked at every day in practice. He said correcting his form and paying attention to little details are key elements to his training routine.
“And that’s what we’ve been talking about, and it takes some work and flipping my stance, just some little things like that that are small that many people wouldn’t notice, but it is,” he explained.
The rookie QB thought about his formative years, where he had racked up thousands of repetitions with his old approach to throwing the football. He gets that and knows he has to learn and improve from those experiences as he moves towards training camp.
“I have so many banked reps of the other way, I’ve got to just get all these on my own and work so once camp comes around, I’m ready to go,” Lawrence added.
In addition to his recent shoulder surgery, Lawrence faced a significant hurdle during the previous season when he suffered a concussion during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 3. He missed the next two games with his injury. He bounced back in a big way, guiding the Jaguars to victory over the Houston Texans and their newly-minted head coach, Romeo Crennel, on December 1.
As he goes through the rest of the offseason program, Lawrence’s recovery has been just fine. He remains on track to get full clearance before training camp opens. Whether you are a fan or a team official, this extremely positive news provides an important shot of confidence.
Coach Coen highlighted Lawrence’s potential, recognizing his talent and ability to perform under challenging conditions.
“He’s extremely talented, and he’s made some unbelievable plays at critical moments and led some huge comebacks. He’s played hurt. He’s done so many good things. Now it’s just about, OK, how do we fine-tune it and just tighten it up a little bit to get him in a place where he is comfortable to cut the ball loose on time and in rhythm regardless of the circumstances,” Coen stated.
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