Gruden Weighs in on Minshew's Place on Jaguars' Depth Chart

Jay Gruden has made it clear the quarterback decision is in Doug Marrone's hands, but what does he think of Gardner Minshew's supposed limitations in practice?

Doug Marrone has made it clear that unless something changes on the practice field, the Jacksonville Jaguars will continue to start eighth-year veteran Mike Glennon at quarterback and not second-year quarterback Gardner Minshew II. 

For offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, it is a decision he knows is up to Marrone and Marrone only but is also a decision he has to pour his energy into to ensure he and his quarterback are on the same page on Sundays. 

"Well, we have high hopes that Mike will play well and there won’t be an issue. You know, that’s number one, that’s the one thing we’re focusing on right now. As far as making a change to Gardner, that’s up to Coach Marrone," Gruden said on Wednesday.

"And his workload is up between him and the trainer and his personal masseuse or whoever the heck he talks to, I don’t know. I know quarterbacks have to throw the ball in order to get better. That’s the only way you get better, is by repetition and throwing the football to your guys, different cuts, over and over and over again. If you’re not able to do that, then it’s hard to show the team that we should have confidence in you making that happen on game day. 

Minshew entered the season as the undisputed starter and potential face of the franchise, but it has been some time since we have seen him take a snap on game day. Minshew last played in a 39-29 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 25, over a month ago. 

Minshew reported an injury to the thumb on his throwing hand following the Week 7 game, an injury that ESPN's Adam Schefter reported was sustained in Week 5. Following the team's Week 8 bye week, Minshew was inactive for three games as rookie Jake Luton took his place in the lineup. 

Minshew has since been taken off the team's injury report. He was healthy enough to be Glennon's backup in Week 13 against Minnesota, so the Jaguars must be somewhat comfortable with his ability to play. But despite that, Minshew continues to be planted firmly as the team's No. 2 quarterback. 

"So, I think Gardner has got to get his arm right with the trainer, he’s got to continue to progress and throw a lot of balls in practice for us to see that he’s ready to go," Gruden said. 

"But as far a making that change back to Gardner, that’s up to Coach Marrone. And obviously, hopefully Mike Glennon plays well this week and there won’t be an issue.”

Marrone has stated numerous times over the last two weeks that he has yet to see Minshew have the kind of workload in practice he wants. Whether that means he is doing too much or not enough hasn't always been clear, but what is clear is the team is placing an emphasis on practice performance.

"It’s actually too much workload, so we’re working through that with Jay and [Quarterbacks Coach] Ben [McAdoo] and Gardner to know exactly what that workload is, seeing him go out there in practice and throw," Marrone said on Wednesday. "That’s been in my discussions so we’re trying to work through it trying to understand it.”

But while Marrone has yet to see enough from Minshew in practice to convince him to hand the starting job back, each set of eyes is different.  

So, what has Gruden thought of Minshew's time on the practice field in recent weeks?

Well, that question isn't the easiest to answer. As the backup quarterback, there are simply not enough reps to go around for Minshew -- Glennon is the starter and thus commands the lion's share of the throws.

"Yeah, it’s really difficult because we don’t throw the ball a lot. I mean, obviously we throw it in practice. But we have individual periods, then you have team periods and the team periods, you’re trying to get the starter ready. So, Gardner doesn’t get many reps, he gets a few with the starters and then he does some of the scout team stuff," Gruden explained. 

"Which you know, over the course of practice, you’re throwing about 30 team reps and then the individual reps, he’s gotten some throws as well. So, we’re trying to cater to Mike Glennon right now, but also keep a close eye on Gardner of where he is." 

When Gruden does get a look at Minshew, though, he admittedly doesn't see a much different quarterback than the one he saw in training camp and earlier this season. Gruden's answers have been extremely candid this season, but especially in this instance.

"To me, his arm looks fine, I don’t see any difference from now to when it was in training camp," Gruden said. 

"I didn’t see any difference ...  when he had the hurt thumb, I didn’t see a difference either. So, only Gardner can tell you how his arm is feeling and then obviously, only Coach Marrone can make that decision to go back to Gardner if he sees fit.”