The Jacksonville Jaguars have already gotten involved in the trade market by acquiring defensive lineman Malcom Brown from the New Orleans Saints. With plenty of time left before the draft, the Jags could also get in on shipping off some players themselves, which would help them add more selections.
With quarterbacks being shipped all over the league, one of the most popular names in trade discussions has been third-year quarterback Gardner Minshew, who has started in 23 games since being drafted by the Jags in 2019. According to Ian Rapoport, his significant time on the field has led to teams reaching out to the Jags about a trade, which now gives Jags fans another interesting situation to monitor.
One QB to monitor: The #Jaguars have received a few calls from teams inquiring about QB Gardner Minshew, source said. The Jax QB room is in flux, and we’ll see where this one goes.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2021
Minshew, 24, was drafted by the Jags in the sixth-round two seasons ago out of Washington State. He ended up seeing the field behind center in his first-ever regular season game after Nick Foles broke his clavicle against the Kansas City Chiefs Week 1 of the 2019 season.
That led to Minshew starting all the way up to Week 9, but he was benched when Foles returned from injured reserve. Unfortunately for the veteran, he wouldn’t hold on to the job long and Minshew reclaimed his QB1 spot Week 14 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Minshew put together a respectable rookie season when 2019 was over, winning the Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award seven times while going 285-of-470 (60.6%) for 3,271 yards, 21 touchdowns, and six picks. Unfortunately, 2020 didn’t provide similar success for Minshew (or the Jags as a whole) as he dealt with a hand injury that sidelined him and regressed from his rookie campaign in general. In a season where the Jags would end up going 1-15, Minshew was 216-of-327 (66.1%) for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five picks.
It’s unclear whether or not Minshew is being looked at for a starting role or as a backup, but clearly, teams see potential in him. With Trevor Lawrence, likely coming to Jacksonville Minshew’s chances to start for the Jags are slim as we approach the regular season, though it certainly doesn’t hurt to have him as a backup. Time will tell if an organization gives the Jags a deal they can’t pass up for the young quarterback, but it certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see him on another team when looking at the quarterback transactions league-wide.