JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars open the 2022 NFL season on the road against the Washington Commanders on Sept. 11.
They're coming off a disastrous and dysfunctional season in which former coach Urban Meyer was fired after 13 games amid allegations of mistreatment of players and assistant coaches. The Jaguars went 3-14 in 2021, the 10th time in the past 11 seasons the franchise has lost at least 10 games.
Owner Shad Khan hired Super Bowl winning coach Doug Pederson to replace Meyer, and Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke gave out $158.25 million in guaranteed money via free agency to eight players, including receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, tight end Evan Engram, guard Brandon Scherff and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun.
Even with all the changes, the biggest storyline heading into training camp will be how quickly second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence improves with a better group of playmakers and an NFL-experienced head coach.
Here's a 53-man roster projection heading into the summer break:
QUARTERBACK (2): Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Beathard