Trevor Lawrence said Wednesday that preparing for a season-opener is challenging enough. This week, though, Jacksonville also has to prepare for a new defensive coordinator.
When the Jaguars travel down the coast to Hard Rock Stadium for Sunday’s opener at Miami (1 p.m. ET, CBS), they’ll get the NFL’s first look at Anthony Weaver’s Dolphins defense.
Last year, Jacksonville lost five of its final six and got shut out of the AFC playoffs on the season’s final day. Eight months later, both team ownership and the starting quarterback want the Jaguars to get off on the right foot.
“It’s early,” Lawrence said, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com. “It’s Week 1 and you think you’ve got 17 games, but at the end of the season you never want to be in a position — think of last year, for example — where you look back.
“Of course, we finished the season bad, but you also look back to the beginning and you’re like, ‘Man, we let some games slip early that would have given us even more room at the end of the season.’”
Weaver, 44, replaced Vic Fangio and enters his 13th season as an NFL coach after eight years as a player in the league. His background is difficult to gauge for the Jaguars because Weaver has coached for five teams – the New York Jets (2012), Buffalo (2013), Cleveland (2014-15), Houston (2016-20) and Baltimore (2021-23). That’s a lot of film for Lawrence entering a Week 1 game he considers crucial.
“It’s really important,” Lawrence said. “This is an AFC team, too, so that’s important, but every game is crucial. You put everything into it, and you just try to go 1-0 each week. You have to keep that tunnel vision for 17 weeks straight. That’s what it is, so we’ve got to start with just one, this week.”
Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday. His status for Sunday is uncertain.