Jaguars Eager to See Growth From Gardner Minshew: ‘I Think Obviously We Want to See a Big Jump'
A lot of factors will impact the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2020 season, but maybe no factor is more crucial to whether the team finds on-field success than the development of second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew II.
Minshew, a sixth-round draft selection by Jacksonville in 2019, entered last season as Nick Foles' backup but quickly established himself as the Jaguars' best option at quarterback once Foles went down with an injury in Week 1. He racked up rookie of the week awards, won the most games of any rookie quarterback with six, went .500 as a starter, and threw 21 touchdowns to only six interceptions.
Minshew had his flaws, such as 13 fumbles and a four-turnover performance in London vs. the Houston Texans in a game that could have put the Jaguars in the driver's seat of the AFC South. But he also did enough to prove to the Jaguars that he was a better option at the end of the year than Foles was, eventually leading to Foles being traded to the Chicago Bears in March.
2019 Minshew was exciting and encouraging, while imperfect. In 2020, the Jaguars are hoping he will be even better, even if his offseason has been impacted by the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has delayed organized team activities that were scheduled for April 20.
"Well, I think obviously we want to see a big jump," Jaguar head coach Doug Marrone said Tuesday. "Right now, we’re at a time where, again, we’re still in the dead period, so until phase one actually opens up, then we’ll be able to get our players the materials that they need."
While the Jaguars are unable to be with Minshew and go through the new offensive playbook in an offseason in which they need to see big improvements, Marrone isn't overly concerned with his young signal-caller getting caught up to speed.
This is in large part due to Minshew's work ethic. The Jaguars know that just because Minshew isn't in their building, this doesn't mean he isn't putting the work in.
"Obviously, it’s going to be some new things that we’re going to have to learn, but Gardner has always been … He works at a really high level, so I’m not concerned about that," Marrone said. "I talked to a couple players, texted Gardner, but he’s working extremely hard and he’s doing everything he can, safety-wise, and I think we just have to get him in here, start practicing at some point, and see what he can do, as far as with him and [Offensive Coordinator] Jay [Gruden], and the system, what he likes, what we have to get him better and improve at, then work on the things that he did well and really finetune a lot of those things.
Minshew will be given an offseason to hone his game as a starter, even if it is a unique offseason that has become severely handicapped due to health concerns throughout the world and country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it isn't an ideal situation considering the closing of facilities throughout the NFL, it is still time in which Marrone and the rest of the Jaguars can be excited for what the future may hold.
"We’re excited for him. It’s a great opportunity," Marrone said. "He’s not going to change the way he is; he’s a hard-working kid and he’s got a lot of potential, and we have to make sure that everyone around him is doing their job and doing it at a high level.”
