The Jacksonville Jaguars Trade QB Gardner Minshew

The era of Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville has come to an end, as the mustached cult hero was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2022 conditional sixth round draft pick. The draft selection has the potential to elevate to a fifth-round pick if Minshew is involved in 50% of the plays in three games this season, according to sources told to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This move comes after HC Urban Meyer finally announced that 1st overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence would indeed begin the 2021 NFL season as the Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback on Wednesday afternoon.

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The two quarterbacks had been splitting first team reps for much of training camp and the preseason as a supposed competition for the starting role was underway. While both players had solid performances in training camp, it quickly became clear that the talent was just at two different levels, with Lawrence separating and solidifying himself as the best quarterback on the team, especially once the pads came on and the actual scrimmage of ores season games took shape.

Many believe that Meyer’s plan all along had been to trade Minshew and that the supposed starting quarterback competition was to increase his trade value in the eyes of other teams. Signs of this plan can also be seen in the signing of veteran backup QB C.J. Beathard, who has impressed mightily with the highest QBR in the preseason heading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Beathard has starting experience with the San Francisco 49ers and presents a closer physical structure to orchestrate the offense should Lawrence go down with an injury.

Minshew now joins an Eagles locker room with QBs Jalen Hurts and Joe Flacco, presumed to be third on the depth chart. The acquisition is a low risk move, as the Eagles only needed to give up a late round pick for Minshew who is still on a low rookie deal salary with 20 games of starting experience. Minshew also has impressive career statistics completing 501 of 797 passes for 5,530 yards with 37 TDs and only 11 interceptions.

The Jaguars will have to hope that the first team reps given to Minshew in training camp and the preseason have not negatively impacted the rhythm and cohesion of this offensive Trevor Lawrence as the starting quarterback, after a subpar showing in the first half of their preseason outing against the New Orleans Saints. The Jaguars will look to bounce back and get on track for the season this Sunday at 1:00pm (EST) before a two-week break that divides the end of the preseason and the start of the season.