Jaguars

Heading into his second year in HC Liam Coen‘s offense, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence feels significantly more confident in the system’s details and mental aspect. 

“Just having the system down, there’s so much more confidence when you step on the field that we know what we’re doing,” Lawrence said, via the team’s website. “It (Coen’s offense) is just a lot more stressful mentally. I had to get used to that.

“Now, I feel so much more comfortable and the stress level is so much lower. The attention to detail is super high, though. It’s not like I’m relaxing out there, but as far as the confidence and knowing what I’m doing … now I’m paying attention to exactly how the defense is responding.”

Lawrence is thrilled with how their communication and timing compare to this point last year, when everything was brand new.

“What we’re getting to in our system, the timing, guys being on the same page of protection, the communication up front … all that stuff is so much further along because we’re a year in the system. I was very happy with the work we got done.”

Jaguars 

Jaguars DL coach Matt Edwards said that DL Arik Armstead is a solid veteran presence for the locker room and the team will find a way to scheme him more opportunities.

“Let’s just start with the things that he gives us day in, day out, and that’s a veteran presence,” Edwards said, via Jags Wire. “That’s a lot of knowledge, not just for young players, but for everybody in the room We’ve seen Arik impact games in both the run and the rush, and the biggest thing for us is just making sure that we are taking the proper steps in maintenance, because it is a long season, so we make sure that we can take care of his body, which, he’s unbelievable. He’s a true pro in that sense. Our biggest job is getting Arik the looks that he needs every week so that he’s prepared for the game, and then getting him to the game so that he can be his most effective.”

Texans

Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair has been fined eight times over the last three years for a total of $126,452, along with losing $338,223 in salary from a three-game suspension in 2024 following a hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence. Houston DC Matt Burke said “high speed of approach” is a contributing factor to the big hits he’s committed over the years. 

“He has a real ability to uncoil in a short space,” Burke said, via Dan Pompei of The Athletic. “He does it at a high speed of approach, and that’s where you see a lot of those big collisions. That’s part of his superpower.”

Al-Shaair reflected on the incident with Lawrence, saying he would approach it differently now. 

“If I were to know that hitting Trevor Lawrence was going to knock him out, I would have never done that,” Al-Shaair said. “I would have just been like, ‘Take the first down.’ You think it was worth the suspension, the persecution and the judgment, let alone seeing somebody else be knocked out cold on a football field? I want to win, but I don’t want to see nobody get hurt at the cost of me winning.”

Texans GM Nick Caserio said Al-Shaair represents the team well on and off the field. 

“When he’s on the field, he plays the way (head coach) DeMeco (Ryans) wants the team to play,” Caserio said. “And when he’s off the field, he represents the organization the way the McNair family wants to be represented. I would say that’s kind of rare.”