Gardner Minshew has played through significant injury to throwing hand

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew’s play has been a bit consistent the past two games, but apparently he has a very good reason for that.

Minshew underwent an X-ray this week that revealed he has multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He first began experiencing discomfort in the hand on Oct. 11 against the Houston Texans, but the Jags did not find out about the injury until this week.

The Jaguars have a bye this week, but it’s unclear if Minshew will be able to play in Week 9 when Jacksonville faces the Texans again.

Minshew has thrown five touchdowns compared to just one interception over the Jags’ last three games, but his average yards per completion has dropped off significantly. That could have something to do with the injury.

Though his numbers have been fairly solid, there was talk before the injury was revealed that Minshew could be benched coming out of the bye. Doug Marrone hinted at making some big changes to his 1-6 team, and Minshew’s injury may give the coach more of a reason to see what rookie sixth-round pick Jake Luton can do.