San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Eagles add Minshew, cut ex-49er Mullens
The Eagles strengthened their quarterback depth Saturday, trading a conditional lateround draft pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Gardner Minshew.
The Eagles also released third-string quarterback Nick Mullens, the former 49er.
The pick is a conditional sixth-rounder in 2022 that becomes a fifth-rounder if Minshew plays 50% of offensive snaps in three games this season, said an NFL source. Minshew had just been named the backup quarterback in Jacksonville behind Trevor Lawrence, the top pick in this year’s draft. The 2019 sixthround pick out of Washington State started 12 games as a rookie after Nick Foles broke his clavicle in his first Jaguars game. Minshew threw for 3,271 yards and 21 touchdowns, with his unlikely success dubbed “Minshew Mania.”
He entered the 2020 season as the Jaguars’ starter, but a thumb injury sidelined him and he was benched as Jacksonville went 1-15. He has 20 career starts and has completed 62.9% of his passes, throwing for 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The arrival of Minshew could spell trouble for Joe Flacco, who spent training camp as the Eagles’
backup behind Jalen Hurts.
The Eagles signed Mullens in June and had him running the third-team offense in camp. He struggled, completing 55.2% of his passes with three interceptions and no touchdowns in the team’s first two exhibitions. Briefly: The Buccaneers put defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh on the reserve/COVID-19 list, the fourth player this past week to go on the list . ... Offensive lineman Greg Mancz was traded by the Ravens to the Dolphins for a late-round pick. ... The NFL suspended Giants linebacker Ryan Anderson for the first six games of the season for violating the league policy on performance enhancers . ... The Panthers opted to keep kicker Ryan Santoso, acquired from the Giants in a trade Thursday, and cut incumbent Joey Slye.
Gardner Minshew became a cult hero in Jacksonville after the sixth-round pick out of Washington State emerged as a starter in 2019, but his star dimmed last season on a 1-15 team.
Green Bay Packers to show he and the Bills are ready for the regular season.
“It felt good,” said Allen, who last season led the Bills to their first AFC East title since 1995. “It’s preseason so we’re not gonna overreact to anything. But we went out there, we executed like we should have, and at the end of the day that’s all you can ask for.”
Green Bay now looks forward to Aaron Rodgers providing stability to a mistake-filled offense that lacked finish behind a cast of backups, led by Jordan Love. Love finished 12-for-18 for 149 yards and an interception.
Elsewhere: Tom Brady threw for 154 yards and a touchdown in just over a quarter and visiting Tampa Bay got a 23-16 win over Houston. Tyrod Taylor failed to move the offense effectively for Houston in three drives, going 6-for-9 for 31 yards. He’s expected to be Houston’s starter with Deshaun Watson’s future with the team in question . ... Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins left with a knee injury, Lamar Jackson made his 2021 preseason debut and Tyler Huntley-led Baltimore won 37-3 over Washington in Landover, Md., to win their NFL-best 20th consecutive exhibition game . ... Nick Foles
threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Jesper Horsted with 6:51 left, and the visiting Chicago Bears held off the Tennessee Titans 27-24. Horsted, a tight end, finished with three TDs and 104 yards receiving, catching all five passes thrown to him. His first TD came from rookie Justin Fields, who was 7-for-10 for 54 yards . ... A trio of Broncos returning from injuries celebrated their 2021 debuts in host Denver’s 17-12 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Courtland Sutton caught an 8-yard touchdown pass, Von Miller made three tackles and Albert Okwuegbunam had three receptions.