What would it take for the Jags to deal Gardner Minshew?
For all of the struggles the Jacksonville Jaguars have had throughout the last two seasons, its hard to place much of the blame on Gardner Minshew II. The third-year quarterback and former sixth-round made the best of a bad situation, tossing 37 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in 2019 and 2020. But his time as Jacksonvilles starter appears to be coming to an end, as a 1-15 season resulted in the selection of Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick, seemingly ending Minshews chances of securing the job long-term. This, paired with the fact that Jacksonville paid former San Francisco passer C.J. Beathard like a No. 2 quarterback this offseason, would seem to indicate that Minshew doesnt factor into the teams plans. But his play has still been solid, especially given the circumstances, and that fact makes him a prime option for the Jags to trade. Its been expected that the Jaguars would deal him, with many thinking they would try to acquire more draft picks in 2021. But no deal came to fruition before the draft, though according to ESPNs Jeremy Fowler, the 49ers showed some interest before trading for the third overall pick, which they used to draft North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance. However, Minshew has reportedly looked better than Beathard in organized team activities so far (though the pads arent on yet), and Fowler reported that after missing time last week, he wants to compete for the starting job with Lawrence. If coach Urban Meyer determines that Minshew is the better backup option than Beathard, that could complicate the plans at the position a bit. Still, Minshew seems to want to be more than a backup, and according to sources of Fowler, Jacksonville could be willing to take a fifth or a sixth-round pick to part ways with the player who took the NFL by storm in 2019. That sounds about right, though if Minshew is out-performing Beathard, the Jags could potentially get more in return for his services. If offered a fourth-round pick, its hard to imagine Jacksonville wouldnt move on from Minshew. While Lawrence could be 100% healthy from labrum surgery soon, having Minshew around in the meantime seems like a smart plan until Lawrence is fully recovered. Until that happens, there appears to be a slim chance for Minshew to start again, which is why there is some value in keeping him around.