Jacksonville trades Gardner Minshew to Philadelphia

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew has been traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“Trade: Jaguars are sending QB Gardner Minshew II to the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional 2022 sixth-round pick, per sources,” Schefter tweeted Saturday morning. “The 6th-round pick could go to a 5th if Minshew plays in 50 percent of the plays in three games this season.”

The Washington State product now goes from backing up former Clemson quarterback and top overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft in Trevor Lawrence to entering a quarterback room in Philadelphia that is led by former Alabama and Oklahoma star quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Minshew was a pleasant surprise for Jacksonville as a rookie. Drafted in the sixth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Minshew took over the Jacksonville’s quarterback when starting quarterback Nick Foles went down in Minshew’s rookie season. Minshew recorded 3,271 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions to go along with 67 carries for 344 rushing yards in 14 games his rookie season.

In 2020, Gardner Minshew missed time with injury. In nine games, Minshew threw for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Jacksonville finished the 2020 season with the worst record in the league, clinching the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. After the season, head coach Doug Marrone was fired and replaced by Urban Meyer.

Questions abound around Minshew

All offseason, even prior to the draft, questions arose surrounding Minshew’s future in Jacksonville.

Through training camp and the preseason, Meyer claimed a competition was ongoing between Minshew and Lawrence for the starting quarterback job, despite all signs pointing to Lawrence as the QB1. Earlier this week, Meyer finally confirmed Lawrence would be the Week 1 starter.

Minshew now gets a fresh start, competing with Joe Flacco as the backup to Hurts, the projected Philadelphia starter. As a rookie in 2020, Hurts appeared in 15 games, starting four, in relief of Carson Wentz, who struggled last season and has since been traded to Indianapolis. In four starts, Hurts led the Eagles to a 1-3 record while throwing for 1061 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, Hurts ran for 354 yards and three touchdowns.

Hurts is expected to be the quarterback for the Eagles for at least the near-future, but the addition of Gardner Minshew now puts additional pressure on Hurts to perform in his first season with new Philadelphia head coach Nick Caserio. Hurts will have a new weapon in reigning Heisman Trophy winner and 2021 first-round pick DeVonta Smith from Alabama to help jumpstart the Philadelphia offense.