Gardner Minshew is the forgotten man in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback room. After the team selected Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft, the expectation was that he’d start immediately, leaving Minshew’s future in limbo.
Minshew isn’t going to relinquish the starting quarterback job without a fight, however. He made that clear with a pretty hilarious quote about the competition he’s facing.
“In preparation for the competition, I haven’t taken a s— in weeks. Because No. 2 is not an option for me. No. 2 is not an option, I will tell you that,” Minshew said on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, via John Shipley of SI.com.
“I feel like anybody that comes in and thinks that is an option, that is what they are going to get.”
Minshew was a revelation for the Jaguars in 2019, when he won two of his first three starts and briefly excited the fanbase. The success wasn’t sustained, however, and the Washington State product went just 1-7 in eight starts last season despite a respectable 16-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Minshew consistently believed he was the best quarterback on last year’s Jaguars team, and he was likely right, but the team stuck with a combination of Mike Glennon and Jake Luton — perhaps because they were aware the top pick was within reach.
The 25-year-old Minshew is the clear underdog to beat Lawrence for the quarterback job. In fact, coach Urban Meyer certainly sounds like he’s thinking of Lawrence as the likely Week 1 starter. Minshew’s going to give it everything he has, but he may simply be fighting a losing battle already. At least he’ll give us a gem of a quote while he’s trying.
