Trevor Lawrence is already bearing the weight of a franchise's hopes on his shoulders. He'll do so with a C patch on his chest.
Lawrence was named a Jaguars team captain following a team vote. The rookie quarterback received the third-most votes from his teammates, with linebacker Myles Jack leading the way, NFL Network's James Palmer reported.
Lawrence had to earn the job via a camp competition with (the since-traded) Gardner Minshew, and even if it was ultimately more of a ceremony (or charade) than an actual battle, it produced a new starter for Jacksonville. It apparently also proved to Lawrence's still-new teammates that he's capable of leading them into a new era of football in Duval County.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 draft is now tasked with powering a turnaround of a team that ended up with the worst record in the NFL and still has a good amount of roster building ahead of it. Lawrence's teammates believe he's the man for the job.
Lawrence wasn't the only 2021 first-round quarterback to be named a team captain in his first season.
The Jets announced Wednesday that rookie signal-caller Zach Wilson was one of five team captains selected by the players. Wilson was selected No. 2 right behind Lawrence in April's draft.