Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence expressed to the coaching staff earlier this week that running back James Robinson is one of their best players and needs to be on the field.

We'll have to wait until Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans to see if Urban Meyer and his offensive coaching staff consider Robinson in the same regard as Lawrence, especially if he fumbles for the third consecutive game. 

Robinson fumbled last week against the Rams and was benched for 20 plays. The week prior, he fumbled against the Atlanta Falcons and was benched for 18 plays. 

Robinson continues to be slowed by a heel/knee injury problem, but he is expected to play Sunday against the Titans. 

Florida Times-Union staff writers John Reid and Garry Smits and sports columnist Gene Frenette conducted a roundtable discussion to discuss the Robinson situation and try to forecast how the Jaguars may finish out the final stretch of the season with five games remaining.  

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John Reid: Urban Meyer did not handle this situation in the right manner. He actually escalated the problem by not giving a truthful explanation after Sunday's game against the Rams on why Robinson wasn't on the field for 20 plays after he fumbled. Meyer told reporters they needed to ask running backs coach Bernie Parmalee for an explanation because he doesn't get too involved and doesn't micromanage. There should never be a double standard on an NFL team. The same rule should apply to all. Unlike Robinson, backup running back Carlos Hyde fumbled against the Rams but he re-entered the game on the next drive. Honesty is the best way to handle a situation like Robinson but Meyer's response appeared to be deceptive. It took quarterback Trevor Lawrence had the strongest response to the situation when he said Robinson has to be on the field because he's one of their best players.

Gene Frenette: In 27 seasons of covering the Jaguars, I’ve never seen a head coach give such a convoluted explanation for benching a player, regardless of the reason. Robinson is the Jaguars’ top weapon and the way he’s been treated the past two weeks is astonishingly bad. Two fumbles in two games, after not having any history of fumbling, is no reason for Meyer to allow him to be chained to the bench as long as he was. You can’t allow a productive player that you acknowledge is as tough as they come to not be on the field, unless you think he’s too physically impaired to be close to his best. Meyer extended this narrative about his treatment of J-Rob way too long and could well put his own job in peril if he doesn’t stop passing the buck and take better charge of the situation. The fact Trevor Lawrence said publicly what Meyer should have about playing J-Rob was a terrible look for the non-micromanager. 

Garry Smits: The only person who knows the true take is Urban Meyer and I can't get my head around it. He's been all over the map in the last two weeks about why Robinson has been held out for extended periods of time in the last two games for fumbles -- one of which was the result of one hell of an athletic play by three-time NFL defensive MVP Aaron Donald, much more than any carelessness on the part of Robinson. We've heard that it was because of Robinson's health, but he had just as many carries against the Rams after it was 37-7 as before. We've heard that it was because of the rotation with Carlos Hyde, except last year Robinson thrived as the feature back and say what you want about the previous coaching staff: they knew what they had and fed him the ball until they had to pass on every down to catch up. Robinson had 240 carries last season and there were 29 running plays to other backs and wide receivers until he missed the last two games. And we've heard about the fumbles but all this drama over the guy's second and third lost fumbles of his NFL career? When other players are dropping passes, missing tackles, jumping offside and drawing taunting penalties left, right and center, with no apparent benching?

Reid: The Jaguars have needs to address at just about every position, but the biggest is getting better receivers with big-play ability on the field. Lawrence needs better weapons around him because right now the receivers are not getting enough separation. Just importantly as adding playmakers, the Jaguars must address their offensive line. For too long, they have stayed with the same unit instead of making needing changes. The offensive line is allowing too much pass-rush pressure on Lawrence and it's impacting his play. He is not going through all of his progressions or waiting to spot downfield because he is seeing mostly defensive linemen coming after him in the pocket. Left tackle Cam Robinson is a free agent and right tackle Jawaan Taylor has regressed significantly since his rookie season.   

Frenette: Geez, where do you even begin to prioritize this long list? Other than getting a pass-rusher, a speed receiver who can run routes properly, a few good offensive linemen and an impactful tight end, I’m going to go with having a coaching staff, players and organization that is truly aligned. From the head coach and GM Trent Baalke on down, this area has to get much better. That will likely mean having significant coach/player turnover, but getting everybody on the same page is imperative. That part has regressed as this season has gone on.  

Smits: If they decided to resign Cam Robinson, go for one of the top-two pass rushers in the draft, Aidan Hutchinson or Kayvon Thibodeaux, or the fastest offensive playmaker possible. Meyer and general manager Trent Baalke shouldn't over-think this. Get guys who can make plays. If Robinson bolts for free agency, they could consider Alabama tackle Evan Neal, depending on how they feel about last year's second-round pick at tackle, Walker Little. I'd love if Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum drops to the second round or the Jags can work a trade in the last first round for him. He will give the offensive line a mean streak it's lacking.

Reid: The Jaguars should be able to beat the Houston Texans on Dec. 19, but that's likely to be their only victory among their final five games. The Jaguars' next best chance for a victory will be against the New York Jets on Dec. 26. However, the Jets have a little more firepower than the Jaguars and that's going to be the difference maker. The Jaguars are going to continue having problems scoring during the final stretch run.  

Frenette: (on predicting season finish) Whatever previous faith I had in the Jaguars winning five or six games pretty much evaporated after the woeful showing in Seattle coming off a bye week. Losing some important offensive pieces since then only makes it harder to envision this team winning at all. Sure, the NFL is a week-to-week league and they pulled off a minor miracle in knocking off the Buffalo Bills with a fantastic defensive performance. But December is a prime time for teams going nowhere to have a tendency to not be fully engaged for every game. Between the home game against the Houston Texans and the road game against the New York Jets, the Jaguars might get one more win. And you can’t completely rule out a tank job like they did last year, where they used three different quarterbacks the last eight games and were non-competitive in the last four. 

Smits: If think they have a serious chance at winning only three games at best, Houston at home, the New York Jets on the road and possible Indianapolis at home. At this point, going 2-3 over those games would be a good sign of progress.