As a competitor, Trevor Lawrence would have liked to play more than two series and gotten more than the 15 snaps he did in his NFL preseason debut.
But Lawrence understands what the preseason is about and how it works, and all in all, the former Clemson quarterback felt good about his performance in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 23-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the two teams’ preseason opener on Saturday night at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.
“That’s the tough thing I’m learning about preseason – you’ve got to take care of yourself and the team and make your plays count when you’re in there,” Lawrence said to the media following the game, “because you just aren’t going to get as many as you’d like sometimes, just depending on how the game’s going.”
Lawrence’s first NFL snap resulted in a sack, which was not an ideal start to his night. But after that, he settled in and completed 6-of-9 passes for 71 yards, including a 35-yard dime to wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. on his seventh pass attempt.
“First time out there, I felt comfortable, felt poised,” Lawrence said. “Obviously the first play is not what you want for the first play. But after that, I thought we did a good job. We communicated well up front. They did a really good job with protection. At least one of those sacks was on me, for sure, just holding the ball too long. So, that’s something I’ll work on. Just maneuvering in the pocket is something I’ve always got to work on. Other than that, I missed an easy one to Marvin, a little quick out I wish I would’ve hit. But other than that, I felt good out there.”
Trevor Lawrence being Trevor Lawrence.
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Prior to kickoff, Lawrence took a little time to appreciate the moment ahead of his first NFL action.
“That’s something we talked about this week, some of us players. During the national anthem, that’s a really cool time to soak it all in,” Lawrence said. “We’re all lined up right there, the whole stadium’s quiet, and you can kind of just reflect and know how blessed you are to be out there. It was a pretty cool moment for my first time out there.”
A few minutes later, when Lawrence took the field as an NFL quarterback, it was a dream come true for the former Tiger All-American.
Lawrence admitted there was the typical pregame butterflies he has before any season opener, but nothing out of the ordinary even though it was his NFL debut.
“Not really,” he said. “I usually typically get nervous before the first game of any season anyway, so that’s pretty standard. But no, it was exciting. I was ready to get out there. It’s been a long time coming. This has been my dream, so it was good.”
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