In the 2023 NFL season, the Jacksonville Jaguars finished with a 9-8 record and missed out on the playoffs after losing to the Tennessee Titans .
Have the Jaguars improved enough this offseason to make it to the playoffs? Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence certainly thinks so.
As Lawrence embarks on his fourth season with the Jaguars, he believes this upcoming version of the team is the best one yet.
"The best days are definitely ahead of us," Lawrence said to NFL Network. "Speaking individually as well, in my game I think I'm far from playing my best football, and that's ahead of me, so I'm really excited about that."
The Jaguars added a number of talented players through free agency in an effort to ensure that their best days are in fact ahead of them.
The Jaguars added defensive tackle Arik Armstead to a three-year, $51 million contract. The Jaguars defensive line struggled this past season, and adding Armstead could help build toward a stronger defense. They signed wide receiver Gabe Davis to a three-year, $39 million contract, corner Mitch Morse to a two-year, $10.5 million contract, left guard Ezra Cleveland , safety Darnell Savage , running back D'Ernest Johnson , defensive tackle Jeremiah Ledbetter , cornerback Ronald Darby , wide reciever Devin Duvernay , linebacker Trevis Gipson , offensive lineman Blake Hance and safety Daniel Thomas .
Although the Jaguars gained several pieces, they also lost some valuable players — most notably, Calvin Ridley , who left the Jaguars after the 2023 season for the rival Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars also waived linebacker Dequan Jackson and wide receiver Wayne Ruby with an injury designation.
The Jaguars didn't make the playoffs last season, but Lawrence had some standout moments. He completed roughly 66% of his passes and had 21 touchdowns. However, he suffered four injuries over the course of the season, including a left knee injury that happened in Week 6 against the Colts , an ankle injury in Week 13 against the Bengals , a concussion in Week 15 against the Ravens , and a shoulder A/C joint sprain in Week 16 against the Buccaneers .
In the wake of Lawrence's optimism about the 2024 Jaguars squad, Craig Carton was asked if he believes the Jaguars offense has improved over the offseason on The Carton Show . Carton wasn't very optimistic.
"I don't know, because I don't know what Trevor Lawrence is anymore," Carton said. "This was a team that nine weeks into last year, they had the No. 1 seed sitting right there in their laps. And he just had to play better football. They would have won the division, they could have had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs."
Carton argued that once C.J. Stroud showed his athleticism and talent with the Houston Texans , Trevor Lawrence could no longer be labeled the best quarterback in the AFC South.
"C.J. Stroud happened with the Houston Texans, and the argument can no longer be made that [Lawrence] is the best quarterback in the division — he's not, C.J. Stroud is — or that the Jags are the best team in the division — they're not, the Texans are," Carton said.
On top of that, Carton argued that losing wide receiver Calvin Ridley means that the Jaguar's offense isn't as good as it was last year, putting into question Lawrence's claim that "the best is yet to come."
"This is a ‘prove-it' year for Trevor Lawrence," Carton said. "Because it's now year 3 of the Pederson System. Doug Pederson is a very good coach. Obviously, he won a Super Bowl. But he was supposed to be the guy that unlocked the key to Trevor Lawrence's greatness, and frankly, that didn't happen last year."
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