AFC Notes: Daniel Jones, Trevor Lawrence, Anthony Richardson, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard addressed the team’s quarterback situation revolving around an upcoming competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones.

“Would it be nice to know we had an established starter for the next 10 years? Damn right it would,’’ Ballard said, via Fox59. “I’ve never once flinched for the answer there. Yes, it would. There were points where we thought we were going to have that a couple of times and didn’t. But you move along. There are a lot of teams in this league that would like to know they have an established guy right away.’’

“I think it just happens when it happens,’’ Ballard added. “I’m not going to put a timeline on that. We’ll lean heavily on Shane and his staff with Mr. Irsay and I definitely having our eye on it and say on it. At the end of the day, you do what you think is best for the team to win. The best scenario is that we win football games. That’s the best scenario. That’s what it comes down to. You figure the rest of it out as you go along. Whatever the outcome is for Anthony, does it mean it’s the end? No, it doesn’t. I’ve said that all along. It doesn’t mean we’re quitting on him, either. Just everybody’s developmental timeline is a little different. Could we have handled it a little bit differently? Probably yes. To maybe not hand… ‘Here’s the job.’ Maybe we could have handled that a little differently earlier. I don’t think there’s any question he can get more consistent.”

“Competition is a good thing. It is,’’ Ballard continued. “Over time, it’s been proven that to get better, what’s the way to do it? Well, you have to be able to press yourself each and every day for high performance. You do that by having as many good players as you can at that position in the building. We criticize and kill guys when they struggle. Sometimes the struggle, if they can handle it and learn from it and grow from it, the struggle is a good thing. It’s what really allows growth to happen. Failure allows growth to happen. We deem failure in our league as you’re done, you’re finished. That is not the case in a lot of situations. The story has to be written, people have to make judgments right away. I get it. But sometimes the story’s not over just because a guy struggled.’’

Jaguars

Jaguars HC Liam Coen says that the team neds tot do a better job supporting QB Trevor Lawrence by having more success when it comes to running the football.

“For us to help him truly, also from a schematic standpoint, we’ve got to be able to run the football a little bit better,” Coen said. “Give him some help from that standpoint, take a little pressure off, while also playing some good, sound, fundamental, hard defense on the other side of the ball. To be able to ultimately get the best out of our quarterback, we gotta be able to help.”

• Coen said they are focusing on Lawrence’s footwork this offseason: “We’re diving into his footwork, everything with the quarterback position, so much is built on the lower half and the mind.” (SiriusXM NFL Radio)

Titans

Titans president Chad Brinker maintains that the team plans to let the process play out when it comes to the first overall draft pick.

“We are going to go through the whole thing, and I think probably here in two weeks we’re going to have a good idea of where things are headed,” Brinker said, via the team website. “Now, we’re not going to go out there and tell everybody, of course. And, there’s a chance a team calls and it makes you stop for a second and think, ‘Hey, we might need to consider this.’ But all of this is a part of being disciplined and being thorough. You have conversations here and there, but I think everybody understands these trades get done closer to the draft than they do now, at least most of the time. People are checking in, going through their process. So, we’ll see what happens.”