Trevor Lawrence and other Jaguars stars shoot down damning locker room report after 0-4 start
To say the first four weeks of the 2024 season have been a disappointment for the Jacksonville Jaguars would be an understatement.And to make it even worse, NFL insider Jordan Schultz recently shared that he's heard from "a few guys" in the Jaguars locker room that have said head coach Dough Pederson has lost the […]
To say the first four weeks of the 2024 season have been a disappointment for the Jacksonville Jaguars would be an understatement.
And to make it even worse, NFL insider Jordan Schultz recently shared that he's heard from "a few guys" in the Jaguars locker room that have said head coach Dough Pederson has lost the locker room.
This is certainly a bold report to share, and to no one's surprise, multiple players and Pederson himself have already shared their thoughts on the validity of whether the Jaguars head coach has, in fact, lost the locker room.
Doug Pederson's response
“I would know. I talk to these guys every day; I see them every day and, no, I have not lost the locker room. I think these guys have done everything I've asked. They continue to play and practice hard and battle. It's a good group. It's a good group. The right leaders in there, and they know. They know what we need to do. They're not making excuses for it and I'm not going to make excuses, and we’ve just got to do it.”
– Jaguars Head Coach Doug Pederson
Jaguars players' thoughts on the report
“I mean, I shouldn't even have to answer it. You’ve got to do your job so you’ve got to ask it, but I shouldn't even have to answer it. I mean, not at all. I don't know where that's coming from, so I don't even want to really expand on something that's just not true.”
– Jaguars QB Trevor Lawerence
"Thats never a question. I love playing for Coach Pederson. It's the reason why I came here. I know everyone else can say the same we have so much fun coming in here. He creates an environment where we can go out there and own it, this is our team, it's a player led team. Doug has done a great job putting it in our hands and help facilitates that. We all know he wants the best for us. It's 100% false."
– Jaguars WR Christian Kirk
"Not true one bit, I don't know who said that but that's just not true."
– Jaguars TE Evan Engram
If we are to take all of these players and Pederson himself at their word, it does seem like the Jaguars head coach still has the faith of many of the team's leaders both on the field and in the locker room. Now, that can change quickly, especially if the team continues to struggle and lose football games.
To provide more information on the state of the locker room, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence gave an in-depth answer on the team's frustration level after the first four weeks of the season.
“Yeah, I mean it's frustrating. Obviously, it's hard. The hardest part in which this—I mean, we've done a good job of, to be honest, and obviously we haven't gotten the results we wanted, like I've said. The hardest part is dealing with it on Sunday and not getting the result you want and just the next couple of days you're thinking about every situation, you're thinking about one play here or there that could have changed the game. Obviously, three of our four losses have been right there, and it comes down to a couple of plays, so that's hard to kind of get over that hump and then to get back. Now, Wednesday we've finally flushed it and now we're ready to prepare for Indy and we have a great plan put together that we've started.
Obviously, it's going to grow as the week goes on, but that's the hard, I think, part of the week to get through is just because you're just sick, you know? You put all the time in for these games and then when you don't perform and you don't get the result you wanted, it's just a bad feeling especially when you put the time in. I'd say that is the frustrating part, but now we're on to Indy and we’ve got to put another great week together preparing to beat them here at home, big opportunity to get on track and just take it one week at a time. The start of the season was what it was. We can't go back now, and we just have to take it one game at a time and get this thing going on the right track.”
– Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts Week 5 broadcast map: Will you be able to watch on TV?
It's been a disastrous start to the season for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are the final winless team remaining in the NFL after the season's first four weeks. And their season isn't far from falling completely off the rails. In Week 5, they have an AFC South rival, the Indianapolis Colts, coming to town, and […]
