Former QB doesn’t think Trevor Lawrence deserves to be paid ‘elite money’

With the Detroit Lions locking quarterback Jared Goff up on a four-year, $212M contract extension and subsequently making him the second-highest paid QB in the NFL at $53M per season, some have wondered who will be the next signal-caller to cash in on a lucrative quarterback market.

Many expect it to be Trevor Lawrence, who’s reportedly working toward a new deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But former QB turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky doesn’t believe that Lawrence has earned that kind of payday just yet.

“There’s no way we can sit here and say he deserves elite money right now,” Orlovsky said on “NFL Live.” “He’s an elite talent, and you would be paying him because you expect him to become an elite quarterback. You would expect him to finally vault into, for the year, the top-eight quarterback conversation … Trevor hasn’t ascended into that just yet.”

Three years into his NFL career, Lawrence is right on the bubble of good-but-not-great. He’s averaged 235.4 yards passing per game and thrown 58 touchdowns to 39 interceptions with a completion percentage of 63.8 and a passer rating of 85 — both below the league average.

However, if Lawrence gets the going rate for a quarterback in 2024, his next deal should pay him around $50M annually, which would make him one of the six highest-paid QBs in the NFL.