JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Doug Pederson doesn’t need any more motivation. He got all that he needed last year.
Pederson spoke Monday morning at the NFL owner’s meeting in Orlando, saying that he’ll probably never come to terms with Jacksonville’s woeful finish to the 2023 season. The Jaguars were viewed as a potential Super Bowl contender. Instead, they melted down under the pressure amidst the worst collapse in the team’s 29-year history.
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That turbulence has led to a lengthy list of changes for the franchise, including a new defensive coordinator and much-needed personnel upgrades. The greatest asset for Pederson during the collapse of 2023 — motivation. The Jaguars don’t have far at all to look for it.
“When we were sitting there at 8-3 and we had everything going for us and right in front of us. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it. I think for me it’s going to be my motivation, my fuel, moving forward,” Pederson said. “I’m not going to let it cloud the vision but at the same time it’s going to be close in my mind as I move forward with the team this spring.”
The Jaguars were playing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC when the Bengals and backup quarterback Jake Browning came into town for Monday Night Football in Week 13. It was Jacksonville’s first prime-time game in 12 years. The Bengals won 34-31 in overtime and kickstarted the worst finish in franchise history.
The Jaguars lost five of their final six games, mustering their lone win over the Panthers, the league’s worst team. The issues were far too many to list, from lack of leadership to too much finger-pointing to regression from players on both sides of the ball.
Some of Jacksonville’s additions in free agency tackled the lack of leadership aspect. In addition to upgrading positions, defensive tackle Arik Armstead, receiver Gabe Davis and center Mitch Morse, all arrive in Jacksonville with plenty of high quality traits and off-the-field credentials. Pederson said that adding talent and leadership is what he wanted in the locker room as the Jaguars shift from the hunted team in the AFC South to the hunter.
“This is the culture that I want to establish in Jacksonville and this is the reason why you go get guys like Mitch Morse and Arik Armstead and the Darnell Savage’s and guys that have been to the postseason,” Pederson said. “These guys have been captains on their teams and they’ve been to Super Bowls, they’ve been to AFC championship games. These guys know how to win and that’s the influx of talent that we want to bring onto our young roster.”
The 9-8 finish was respectable, sure, but that record was a far cry from that same finish a year earlier. Jacksonville finished 2022 on a tear, won the AFC South in Week 18 and was an ascending franchise when it finished 9-8. It imploded in the same stretch last season, which is why this stands to be the most significant offseason in Pederson’s three years. The Jaguars can’t afford another stumble.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is entering his fourth season and still a relative bargain ($11.7 million, according to Spotrac) for a starter. But Lawrence is going to get significantly more expensive in 2025, be it with a new, lucrative contract or on his fifth-year option ($25.6 million).
General manager Trent Baalke has gone all in on reinforcements this offseason, adding help at several key positions. Those moves reinforce that Jacksonville still views itself as a contender in an AFC South that is far more challenging now than it was in 2023. The Texans won the division and a playoff game, much like the Jaguars did a year earlier.
“Yeah, as a coach, you’re hopeful that’s the motivation. The way we finished the last month and a half is not our standard and it’s not what we talk about. It goes against everything we talk about, really,” Pederson said. “We still had opportunities all the way to the 18th week of the regular season. We’re there at the end, we just got to figure out a way to push through that envelope and be there and credit to Houston, they battled their tails off all year. They were much like us a year ago in ‘22. We had to battle our tails off to get to where we got to.”
The Jaguars re-signed impact players like guard Ezra Cleveland and safety Daniel Thomas, restructured onerous contracts like that of right guard Brandon Scherff and traded for backup quarterback depth in the form of Mac Jones. The biggest moves were reserved for free agency. The Jaguars signed Morse and Armstead, leaders at positions of significant need. Cornerback Ronald Darby, safety Darnell Savage and receiver Gabe Davis also joined the team and project to be instant starters.
Pederson said that he likes the players who the team re-signed, and the ones that they brought in through free agency. But there’s no doubt that despite all of the moves thus far, Lawrence playing better is the key to Jacksonville taking the next step. When he was at his best during the blistering finish of 2022, Lawrence was playing like a top-10 quarterback. During the up-and-down 2023, Lawrence never looked fully comfortable running Press Taylor’s offense. Pederson said that he hadn’t decided who would call plays this year.
But Lawrence’s growth (and health) is key for the Jaguars to get back into contending. He missed the first game of his career last season with a shoulder injury, just one of a lengthy list of health injuries that plagued Lawrence. The offensive line’s myriad issues was a big reason for Lawrence’s regression, but many of the turnovers were solely on his shoulders. Lawrence had 21 turnovers last year (14 interceptions, 7 lost fumbles) and has 60 in three seasons.
“Yeah, you can fix it. Obviously, interceptions are going to happen but it’s the pocket stuff. It’s the fumbling in the pocket, out of the pocket. That’s the part that we can help him with, the ball security stuff,” Pederson said.
“It’s hard for young players because they feel like they can make every play. It’s okay to throw the ball away. We just have to keep educating him in these situations. You can coach it. You are the guy that’s touching the ball every snap. We have to make smart decisions too.”