Minshew Mania moves on as Jaguars trade beloved QB to Eagles
Minshew Mania is on the move.
The Jacksonville Jaguars traded popular backup quarterback Gardner Minshew to Philadelphia on Saturday for a conditional draft pick in 2022. The Jaguars received a sixth-round pick that would become a fifthrounder if Minshew plays 50% of snaps in three games.
The trade allows Jacksonville to move to C.J. Beathard as Trevor Lawrence’s backup and gives Minshew a fresh start in an offense tailored for Jalen Hurts. The Eagles also have 36-year-old Joe Flacco in their now-revamped QB room. They released Nick Mullens to make room for Minshew.
The Jaguars first put Minshew on the trading block during the NFL draft in April, but they didn’t get any takers.
Coach Urban Meyer ended up having Minshew split repetitions with Lawrence when training camp opened — an odd QB competition that no one believed was anything more than a coach sending a message to a young team.
Lawrence was finally made the starter Wednesday,
and Meyer said Minshew would compete for the backup spot with Beathard.
Minshew went 7-13 in 20 starts in Jacksonville after replacing injury-prone Nick Foles. He completed 63% of his passes for 5,530 yards, with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
He started 12 games in 2019, putting up better overall numbers than fellow rookies Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones and creating a “Minshew Mania” buzz around the city and parts of the country.
His quirky fashion sense, which includes jean shorts, Hawaiian shirts, a thick headband, a throwback leisure suit and everevolving facial hair, made him a fan favorite shortly after the Jags drafted him in the sixth round in 2019. His laid-back personality and quick wit made him even more beloved in small-market Jacksonville, which has spent decades longing to find a franchise quarterback.
Minshew was good enough as a rookie that then-Jaguars coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell, who is now a personnel executive for Philly, gave him a chance to prove he could be Jacksonville’s long-term guy.