It’s tough to say this, but the Jaguars are making the right choice by benching Gardner Minshew and going back to Nick Foles as their starting quarterback. Minshew-mania was awesome, but there are strategic reasons to go back to Foles. Here they are:
Foles’ contract
Nick Foles is getting $30 million in cash this year, and $15-plus next year according to Spotrac. That’s not his cap hits. That’s how much money he is making. The $15 million signifies that he’s actually kind of cheap next year, but unfortunately, his cap hit is not cheap. If the Jaguars got rid of Foles next season, it would come with a $33.8 million cap hit. Essentially Foles is staying in Jacksonville because the cap hit would be catastrophic. The Jaguars don’t have an out until 2020.
Minshew’s contract
The yin to Nick Foles’ contract yang is the fact that Minshew is incredibly cheap. He’s under control until 2022. It’s much easier for a team to have their backup making less than a million dollars per year than it is for a high-priced quarterback to be stashed on the bench. If Minshew was drafted in the first round and performed as he did, there’s no way the Jaguars go back to Foles. The thing is, Minshew wasn’t drafted in the first round. That’s the way things played out.
Teams need two quarterbacks
We’ve learned this time and time again, but good teams with playoff hopes need to quarterbacks. The Jaguars now have two quarterbacks. They don’t need to trade Foles. They don’t need to create a situation where there’s an awkward quarterback room. Foles came in the season as a starter. Minshew did well, but he didn’t pull a Tom Brady on Drew Bledsoe. The Jaguars are a fringe playoff team and if they are building toward next year they should be doing so with Foles in mind — due to his contract.
Minshew can learn behind Foles
A lot of good quarterbacks learned behind veterans. Aaron Rodgers sat for years behind Favre. Brady learned from Bledsoe. Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett learned from Brady. Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith for a year. Even Drew Brees learned from Doug Flutie. The idea that young quarterbacks need to play right away is kind of a myth. Look at how many young quarterbacks are successful right now. A bunch of the 2018 quarterback class members are going through growing pains.
Foles deserves a shot
The last time we saw Nick Foles he was throwing one of the prettiest passes we’ve seen in the 2019 season. It was also the play where he was injured. Prior to that, we saw Foles leading the Eagles in the playoffs — again. Foles deserves a shot in this offense. It’s designed for him to succeed. He may struggle due to the Jaguars offensive line, but he deserves a chance to see what he can do.
There are jobs on the line
Don’t forget the biggest factor in this decision. Doug Marrone and Tom Coughlin’s jobs could be tied to how Foles does on the field. If they feel Foles gives Jacksonville the best shot to win some games down the stretch then they will play Foles. It’s that simple.
Recency bias
If Minshew led the Jaguars to victory over the Texans in London we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Unfortunately, he played on his worst games as a pro. It’s easy to make the move when Minshew didn’t perform.
