Dabo Swinney offers advice to Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson amid struggles

Dabo Swinney is not worried about Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson despite their struggles in the NFL this season. While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Clemson Tigers head coach was asked if he has talked to his former players recently and what advice he shared with them.

“I communicate with those guys all the time, whether they’re 1-2 or 3-0. They’ll be fine,” Swinney said. “Those guys are good players, it’s a team sport. They certainly know their roles and long season. Long season. Don’t cash the chips in yet. Just keep going.”

Through three games with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Lawrence has just completed 52.8 percent of his passes while throwing for 560 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His play is one of the reasons the Jaguars are one of three teams in the NFL who have yet to win a game.

Watson has been a little bit better but not great. In his first three games with the Cleveland Browns, Watson has completed 57.8 percent of his passes while throwing for 551 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. The Browns are 1-2 so far this year.

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The interesting thing about Lawrence and Watson is they have proven they can play at a high level. Lawrence had a breakout season in 2022, throwing for 4,113 yards, 25 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while leading the Jaguars to a 9-8 record and the divisional round of the playoffs. The Georgia native also made his first Pro Bowl that year.

Watson, another Georgia native, was named to the Pro Bowl three times when he was a member of the Houston Texans. He led the NFL in passing yards in 2020 (4,823) and led the Texans to the Divisional round of the playoffs in 2019. Watson was traded to the Browns in 2022 after missing the entire 2021 season due to sexual assault allegations.

Lawrence and Watson also had legendary careers at Clemson. During his time with the Tigers (2018-2020) Lawrence was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 2020, named a First-Team All-American that same year, and led Clemson to a national championship in 2018. When Watson was at Clemson (2014-2016), he was named ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 2015, named a Consensus All-American that same year, and led the Tigers to a national title in 2016.