Jaguars' Garnder Minshew, Tre Herndon Among Top 25 in Performance-Based Pay for 2019 Season

Two of the Jaguars' youngest starters from 2019 have received performance-based pay distributions for their past seasons, a nice little bump in money for each.

Thanks to a program that gives players additional pay based on their performances relative to their original salaries, two Jacksonville Jaguars players will be receiving one of the 25-highest distributions of performance-based pay.

The performance-based pay system is used to reward players who play high snap counts but have lower salaries compared to others who play as much. Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II, a sixth-round rookie in 2019, and cornerback Tre Herndon, a second-year undrafted free agent, each received some of the highest distributions in the pay, which was announced on Thursday. 

Minshew, who appeared in 14 games and started 12, played 906 snaps in 2019. The rookie passer is set to earn a $319,098 bump, the 18th-largest distribution made to any player. Minshew played on a rookie salary of $495,000 in 2019. He originally signed a four-year, $2,710,884 contract, with $190,884 guaranteed.

Meanwhile, Herndon got a bump of $327,050, the 16th-largest distribution handed out to a player. Herndon, 24, appeared in 16 games and started 14 for the Jaguars, his first game as a starter. He played 901 snaps, 86% of the team's defensive snaps. 

Herndon played on a salary of $570,000 in 2019. He signed a three-year, $1.715 million contract with the Jaguars when he signed in 2018, which included a  $17,700 guaranteed, 

Minshew was a revelation for the Jaguars as a rookie, earning multiple rookie of the week honors and boasting a 6-6 record as a starter, the best among all rookie quarterbacks in 2019. Minshew completed 60.6% of his passes for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns with six interceptions, the best year statistically of any Jaguars' rookie quarterback in team history.

While head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell have yet to publicly commit to Minshew as the team's starting quarterback in 2020, he will still have a chance to compete with veteran quarterback Nick Foles for the job. Foles was 0-4 as a starter in 2019 after signing a four-year, $88 million contract last March.

Herndon took over one of the starting cornerback positions in Jacksonville's defense on a full-time basis after the Jaguars traded Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams in October. Herndon stepped in as a starter for a few weeks before that, making his first-career starts since signing with the Jaguars out of Vanderbilt as an undrafted free agent in 2018. 

After some initial struggles, Herndon settled into his role and ended up being the Jaguars' most productive cornerback. He recorded three interceptions and 13 pass deflections, each of which led the entire Jaguars' defense. With the Jaguars agreeing last week to trade veteran cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Denver Bronco, Herndon will likely be asked to repeat his large role in the defense in 2020.