Soon to be Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence spoke to Sports Illustrated for an in-depth interview ahead of the NFL Draft. The 21-year-old touched various topics with the sports media outlet, but one quote in the piece is causing many to question his commitment to football.
“I want people to know that I’m passionate about what I do and it’s really important to me, but . . . I don’t have this huge chip on my shoulder, that everyone’s out to get me and I’m trying to prove everybody wrong,” he says. “I just don’t have that. I can’t manufacture that. I don’t want to.”
This statement from Lawrence has caused plenty of reaction on sports media shows. On his program “The Herd,” host Colin Cowherd, Lawrence’s comments don’t come as a surprise considering the former Clemson quarterback has been the best player at his position since his early teen year.
“Why would Trevor Lawrence have a chip on his shoulder? That’s because since he was 14, he’s been the best QB in the country,” Cowherd said. “Nobody ever has doubted Trevor Lawrence. He doesn’t resent people because people have helped him.”
However, not everyone sees Lawrence’s comments in that matter. On ESPN’s “Get Up!” Louis Riddick was taken back from the Sports Illustrated piece statement.
The ESPN football analyst added that if it were Justin Fields stating that, the sports media world would be adding it to the growing list of questions many have over the former Ohio State quarterback.
“Winning at the NFL level, playing quarterback at the NFL level is hard,” Riddick said. “It’s about the details. It’s about the preparation and it’s about the commitment. You’ve got to be committed on that level. The last thing I’ll say is this real quick: Remember people were questioning Justin Fields and his commitment. Had he said this same kind of thing, what do you think we’d be talking about this morning?”
