Jaguars Training Camp Battles to Watch: Backup Quarterback Spot
With NFL training camps set to kick off on July 28, it is time to examine which training camp battles will be the most hotly contested once the Jacksonville Jaguars hit the field again.
For the Jaguars, 2020 represents a year of transition. A new offensive scheme, Gardner Minshew II taking the reigns of the offense on a full-time basis and an overhauled roster that is now one of the youngest and most inexperienced in the league.
Once training camp rolls around, the Jaguars will have to short out the best way to field 22 starters in Week 1 vs. the Indianapolis Colts. Who should start at key positions such as cornerback, wide receiver, offensive tackle and more?
In an effort to gauge which training camp battles will be the most noteworthy and likely the hardest fought, we are going to take a look at the upcoming competition for the backup quarterback position. Gardner Minshew II has a firm grip on the starting job as long as he is healthy, but it remains to be seen who will be the all-important No. 2 quarterback.
No. 2 quarterback: Josh Dobbs vs. Mike Glennon vs. Jake Luton
There are three different quarterbacks who will enter training camp behind Minshew on the depth chart, but each has varying situations in which surrounds them. Because of this, it is hard to peg exactly which signal-caller will hold the clipboard behind Minshew.
Josh Dobbs spent last season as Minshew's backup following an early-season trade, though he was a healthy scratch once Nick Foles returned from injury; Mike Glennon is the elder inside the team's quarterback room following the eighth-year veteran signing with the team in May; Finally, Jake Luton is the team's most recent Day 3 flier on a quarterback, the third-consecutive quarterback the Jaguars have drafted in the sixth round.
So, who should have the edge? Each brings different things to the table, making it difficult to project the frontrunner.
Dobbs presents the option with the most physical upside, though his NFL experience is limited. The Jaguars traded a 2020 fifth-round pick for the 25-year-old passer, but ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, he has appeared in just five games.
During Dobbs' short NFL career, he has completed 6-of-12 passes for 43 yards and one interception. But despite his relative lack of playing time since entering the league, the fourth-year quarterback is held in high regard in Jacksonville thanks to his smarts on and off the field. He has also been seen frequenting workouts with Minshew and other members of the starting offense this preseason.
Meanwhile, Glennon has the most starting experience of any quarterback on the roster. The former third-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft has appeared in 29 games, starting 22 in different tenures with Tampa Bay and Chicago.
Glennon played in 19 games (18 starts) in his first two seasons with Tampa Bay and threw for 4,025 yards and 29 TDs, including 2,608 yards and 19 TDs as a rookie in 2013. He was the first rookie in NFL history to throw for at least one TD in each of his first eight career starts and was just the fourth rookie in NFL history to post two games with a passer rating of 137.0 or higher.
While Glennon has never found great success as a starter, he certainly brings experience and on-field knowledge to the quarterback room. Whether that impacts his ability to push for the backup quarterback spot remains to be seen, but it should at least be expected for him to get a legitimate shot.
"For me, there is a comfort level that comes into having a veteran presence in that room with the young guys that we have, you know, with Gardner, and Dobbs, and with Jake now," head coach Doug Marrone told local media following the signing of Glennon. "I feel real comfortable about where Jay is as the coordinator and a former quarterback, and Ben, as far as their knowledge and things of that nature. But I always think there is a part of learning that occurs outside of your coaches, you know, with the people who are around you."
"I wasn't trying to hide anything. I was trying to make sure that we were going to, if we didn't do something maybe early in the draft, that we were going to get some type of veteran presence in there," Marrone continued.
Meanwhile, Luton appears to have the longest odds to earn the No. 2 quarterback position. Instead, a spot on the practice squad seems more likely since he is behind both Dobbs and Glennon in terms of experience, and Dobbs has already set himself apart from the group by integrating himself within the Jaguars' organization in 2019.
Luton, who the Jaguars drafted out of Oregon State with the No. 189 pick in April's NFL Draft, is a solid project in terms of traits for the Jaguars to develop, but with a young starting quarterback it is impossible to envision the Jaguars opting to have a rookie back Minshew up.
Still, it is clear the Jaguars are high on Luton and what he brings to the table, even if he is likely behind Dobbs and Glennon on the depth chart.
“We liked his size, we liked his release, his arm strength. Bigger body. And we really liked the way he threw the ball at the NFLPA game, at the all-star game he was at," general manager Dave Caldwell said following the draft. "We felt like he has got some upside. He is 6’6”, 200-and 40 some odd pounds, and moves well in the pocket. We just felt like with those traits and what he could offer that he could come in and compete for a spot on this roster.”
As of now, it is anyone's guess as to who wins the backup quarterback job. Dobbs has the upside and familiarity with Marrone and the receivers, while Glennon provides experience in bunches. It would be understandable for the Jaguars to lean one way or another, though they must be confident in their decision considering how 2019 made the importance of the backup quarterback position so evident.
Who do you think wins the backup quarterback position? Let us know in the comments below!
