Many anticipated that the main storyline to watch during the preseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars was the quarterback battle between first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence and incumbent starter Gardner Minshew. But while Lawrence could’ve been better in his debut, he out-performed Minshew. Given that, plus the fact that he started the game, it seems the Jags have made their decision about the starter.
Now, it seems the more interesting discussion may center around the No. 2 quarterback, because statistically, neither Lawrence nor Minshew were the most effective quarterback on Saturday night. That honor goes to C.J. Beathard, who was signed to a backup quarterback deal this offseason after starting two games in San Francisco last year.
Beathard finished the game 13-of-16 passing with 102 yards and a touchdown pass to Tavon Austin, and his play has raised some questions about who the No. 2 quarterback should be — and in turn, about Minshew’s place on the roster.
In discussing his positive takeaways from the game, coach Urban Meyer praised Beathard’s play.
“Positives were C.J. Beathard came in and played fantastic, defense against the run,” he said. “I think they averaged 1 yard per carry, 1.5 yards per carry. Obviously, we loaded the box quite often, but our defensive line kind of controlled the line of scrimmage. Offensively, we took care of the ball. I thought the backs, receivers, everybody really did a good job taking care of the football, which was an emphasis.”
Meyer has been quick to praise both Lawrence and Minshew in the past and seems to have indicated that it’s still an open competition. But with his positive things to say about Beathard, one has to wonder if Minshew’s place on the depth chart may be slipping.
The play of the quarterbacks, in general, was hampered by offensive line struggles on Saturday. However, Meyer said he liked what he saw from the starting group in general.
“Cam [Robinson] was pretty solid. Jawaan [Taylor], we are working on some things today,” he said. “He had a great training camp, so we are good. [He] did not play great to answer your question, didn’t play awful, didn’t play great. A.J. Cann played very solid, gave up one pressure, but he’s been really solid all the way through. [Brandon] Linder didn’t play much. Obviously, [Andrew] Norwell has one more week out. But [Ben] Bartch actually did okay in there, so we’re developing that third guard which we need and the third tackle right now. Walker Little struggled. He was playing low hands for some reason, it was on him really fast, so he has to get a lot of reps. We’re counting on him. He had a really good training camp, so we have to get him going.”
The quarterback competitions — both for starter and backup — will be interesting to watch as the preseason progresses, but Minshew may need some impressive performances to even solidify his position as the No. 2 quarterback moving forward.