The Jaguars started Trevor Lawrence at quarterback in the team’s first preseason game and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said on Thursday that the first overall pick of this year’s draft is likely to start against the Saints on Monday night.
Bevell was quick to note that starting Lawrence in these games isn’t a sign that the team has made a decision on their quarterback for Week 1. While just about everyone expects Lawrence to have that job, the Jaguars say he’s still competing with Gardner Minshew for the No. 1 job in Jacksonville.
“We’re still going to handle it that way until we end up making the final decision,” Bevell said, via John Reid of the Florida Times-Union. “Right now, they are still status quo. We’re trying to make everybody better. We want competition at each and every position. Both guys are getting better because of it.”
Bevell said that he thought “the whole game experience” was important for Lawrence’s growth and that he thinks the rookie will continue to improve as a result of being exposed to opposing defenses. That process wouldn’t come to an end in the preseason, which makes it all the likelier that the Jaguars will choose to roll with the player they made the long-term plan at quarterback once the dust settles on this summer’s competition.