The NFL is going through a lot of movement when it comes to quarterbacks this season as several teams will start new names under center, and others will be acquiring notable backups. The Jacksonville Jaguars have found themselves in these discussions, not just because they are likely to draft Trevor Lawrence, but because a report surfaced that teams had been calling about Gardner Minshew II.
However, despite those calls, the Jags appear to have Minshew in their plans for now. On Friday morning, coach Urban Meyer told the media that the team wasn’t fielding calls for the third-year player, who he had the chance to meet with this week.
“At this point, no. At this point, I know Gardner [Minshew II] a little bit,” Meyer said. “He came in yesterday; we had a good visit. That’s the second time I spent time with him. This is all kind of new to me. I’m used to spending about five, six hours a day with our quarterback. January, February, that’s the days you get your quarterback ready to go. You can’t do that in the NFL. There’s a lot of anticipation about the first pick.
“I understand there’s a lot of conversation out there, but there’s been no decisions made. Gardner’s done some very good things here in Jacksonville and he’s a competitive maniac, which I really appreciate that about him. So, there’s been no decisions made. Yesterday was the first lengthy meeting we had and we’re going to continue that here for the next few weeks.”
While things could change in terms of the Jags’ stance on Minshew (especially if they get Alex Smith), keeping him on the roster for the regular season would give them an experienced backup. The 2019 sixth-round selection has seen a lot of time on the field as a starter (20 games). Most of those starts came as a rookie (12) and eight occurred last season.
Minshew will enter this season with a 7-13 record as a starter. Statistically, he’s registered a completion rate of 62.9% (501-of-797) while passing for 5,530 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. His rookie campaign, in particular, appears to be what caught the eyes of scouts around the league. With that being the case, other organizations will likely continue to monitor the situation, though the Jags aren’t actively shopping Minshew.