Jacksonville Jaguars should commit to Gardner Minshew as starter

Even when Nick Foles returns, the Jacksonville Jaguars should stick with Gardner Minshew as their starting quarterback.

The Jacksonville Jaguars played their worst game of the season on Sunday, falling 26-3 to the Houston Texans. Both teams crossed the pond to play this game in London, but the Texans were the only team that actually showed up. This was a disastrous performance for the Jaguars from the beginning and the play of rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew was a major reason why.

On the day, Minshew completed 27-of-47 passes for 309 yards. He did not score any touchdowns and turned the ball over four times (two interceptions and two fumbles). Minshew was terrible on Sunday, but I am seeing far too many people ready to give up on the young quarterback.

Let’s just calm down for a minute. Yes, this was a bad performance for Minshew, but it is only one game. Plus, this game was played in London, which is a difficult situation for anybody. We need to take these overseas performances with a grain of salt sometimes.

Minshew is still a rookie quarterback who has never gone through an entire NFL season. He was a sixth-round pick but showed a ton of promise earlier this season. We cannot give up on his future after only this one bad game.

Nick Foles returning from injury was always going to lead to a difficult decision for the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, it’s not like this team is going to be competing for a championship this season. If I were deciding what happens in Jacksonville, I would stick with Minshew for the remainder of the season.

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The Jags paid Foles to be their franchise signal-caller for at least the length of his four-year contract. That being said, things have changed since he signed that deal. Minshew showed a ton of promise earlier this season and needs to be given a full opportunity to make this job his.

If Minshew can get back on track and prove himself as the clear top option under center for the Jacksonville Jaguars, they will be in an extremely advantageous position going forward.

Minshew is under contract for dirt cheap for the next three seasons after this one. Having a legitimate starting quarterback under control in a cheap rookie deal is the biggest advantage in professional sports and the Jaguars need to take advantage of this if Minshew can do his part.

Give Minshew the rest of the season to prove himself. I mean, what do they have to lose? If he plays well for the rest of the year like he did earlier this season, the Jaguars have one of the most valuable assets in the entire league. On top of that, they could shop Foles around the league and sell him off to the highest bidder. If Minshew struggles the rest of the way, then you move forward next season with Foles as your starter and Minshew as the backup. Nothing has changed.

There is no downside to letting Minshew finish out the season as the starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars. There is only potential lost value if Foles is allowed to come in and push Minshew back to the bench immediately.