Trevor Lawrence Camp Update — August 23: Clean Red Zone on Carolina's Starters

Trevor Lawrence threw three consecutive red-zone touchdown passes against Carolina's starting defense in Wednesday's joint practice — Jakobi Meyers over a defender's head in the end zone, then tight ends Brenton Strange and Nate Boerkircher — and per John Shipley at Jaguar Report he "did not come close to missing in the entire red-zone period." The day's one blemish was an interception to Panthers safety Nick Scott on a throw over the middle intended for Meyers. Lawrence's own review, at the team's website: "It was really productive," and, "Was it perfectly clean? No... but as far as just the competition, the back and forth – that always feels game-like."

The bigger change was who stood in front of him. A week after a rotating, injury-thinned line surrendered a half-dozen sacks to New Orleans, Walker Little started Wednesday's practice at right tackle and rookie Emmanuel Pregnon took the first-team left guard job, per Shipley, and Cole Van Lanen came off the physically-unable-to-perform list Thursday after missing all of camp with a knee injury. The ledger was not all positive: right guard Patrick Mekari had back surgery, per Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, and Charean Williams at Pro Football Talk reported he could open the season on injured reserve. Jacksonville traded with the Giants for offensive lineman Daniel Faalele two days later. The pocket that protects Lawrence in September is being rebuilt in real time, but for the first time this month it gained more bodies than it lost.

Lawrence then sat Friday's game entirely, along with the rest of the starters, while Carolina played its first units early and won 34 to 17 in a weather-shortened night, per John Oehser at the team's website — his third straight preseason week without game snaps, with Liam Coen saying he had not decided but that starters were unlikely to play the finale either, per the team's site.

Back in June we previewed Lawrence off an MVP-finalist season and called the breakout real; the question camp has added is entirely about the protection, and this was the best week that question has had.

What to watch: whether Mekari lands on injured reserve at next Sunday's cutdown to 53, and which five linemen take the field together in the finale against Tampa Bay. We'll check after cut day.

_Data via nflverse._