With Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II sidelined by a significant thumb injury, rookie Jake Luton is set to likely start in his place. Like Minshew, he’ll be in a similar situation as a sixth-round rookie who likely didn’t have plans to take the field in their first year, but here we are as things simply come up out of the blue all the time in the NFL.
As the team heads into Week 9’s game against the Houston Texans, there is a great deal of belief in the young rookie, but at the same time, the staff is aware that a win won’t be easy. Those were pretty much the sentiments echoed by offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, whose been impressed with Luton dating back to this summer, but understands he’s being thrown into the fire rather quickly.
“Unfortunately, it’s not going to be easy for a rookie, first game, hadn’t taken a lot of reps with the first team,” said Gruden Wednesday. “In fact, I don’t think he’s called one of our plays in the huddle since training camp, so it will not be easy for him.”
As for the positives, Gruden praised Luton’s physical tools Wednesday, as the rookie does offer the team better measurables (6-foot-6, 224-pounds) and arm strength than Minshew.
“I think there’s a lot to like, just what we’ve seen over the course of [the] last three, four months. He’s got a great arm. He’s got the ability to put touch on the ball. He can stroke it now, that’s for sure, so we’re excited to see him throw the ball down the field,” said Gruden.
“I think he has great vision too. He’s tall, he’s six foot six [inches]. I think he’ll be able to get off his first progression, be able to work his eyes and find the next, second, hopefully third guy if we have protection. But from arm talent, he’s impressive.”
Only time will tell if Luton can have the success Minshew did as a rookie, but it’s clear the staff has faith in him. Now, it will be a matter of doing it on the field as he will have the opportunity to do something that Minshew hasn’t — and that’s defeat the Texans.