With Nick Foles being traded to the Chicago Bears, it is full-blown Minshew Mania down in Duval. Gardner Minshew is the Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback.
It is all about Gardner Minshew in Duval going forward.
On Wednesday, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded quarterback Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on the deal, citing Bears head coach Matt Nagy has a previous working relationship with Foles from their brief time together in the Kansas City Chiefs organization.
With the trade, Chicago now has the worst contract in all of football. Then again, Foles will likely end up being the Bears’ starting quarterback, as he should beat out incumbent Mitchell Trubisky during training camp. As for Jacksonville, the Jaguars organization will get to see what it has in Minshew full-time, as well as collect another valuable draft asset.
Minshew went 6-6 in 12 games as the Jaguars’ starter. He quarterbacked Jacksonville to all six of their wins last season. The former Washington State Cougars standout thrived in Mike Leach‘s Air Raid offense in Pullman, but was only a sixth-round pick by the Jaguars in the 2019 NFL Draft. Minshew overachieved as a rookie with the Jaguars, gaining a cult-like status in the process league-wide.
Minshew completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns and six interceptions in 14 games of action. He had signature wins over the Tennessee Titans, the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders last year. With former Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden coming in as his new offensive coordinator, Minshew should have a great 2020 season.
Though the Jaguars will only play six home games in Jacksonville next year, we should expect Minshew Mania to grow with every beautiful pass he throws. Minshew showed great maturity and confidence in a big spot for him last year. When given the chance, Minshew finds a way to take advantage of it, always thriving in a key situation. He has a terrific opportunity to be great now.
As for Jacksonville, the Jaguars now have 12 picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. They will probably need to draft a quarterback at some point, but probably not in the first round. The Jaguars front office wants to see what it has in Minshew this fall while he is still on his cheap rookie deal. Jacksonville is paying next to nothing at the quarterback position, which means it can rebuild on the fly.
If he fails, the Jaguars can draft a quarterback in the first round in 2021. Should he succeed, Minshew can become one of the greatest quarterbacks in franchise history, joining the likes of Mark Brunell and David Garrard. It’s not a rich quarterback history in Jacksonville, but Minshew can make his mark with the franchise again next season. He has to be excited about all this.