After signing a four-year, $88 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, quarterback Nick Foles will unquestionably be the team’s No. 1 quarterback for the next three years or so. However, the bigger question heading into 2019 is who will be his backup between rookie Gardner Minshew and second-year players Alex McGough and Tanner Lee, both of whom were drafted in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Upon the release of former No. 2 quarterback Cody Kessler, fans immediately began to eye Minshew as his replacement as front office executive Tom Coughlin spoke highly of the former Washington State Cougar’s football IQ. As a college prospect under Mike Leach, the young signal-caller was ultra-productive and was second in the nation in passing in 2018 with 4,779 passing yards and 38 touchdowns to his name. Early in his tenure as a Jag, he’s flashed his accuracy and passing ability, but he’ll need to do more to be crowned Foles’ backup heading into the regular season.
As decent as Minshew has been early in his Jags tenure, McGough has a year of experience on him and better physical tools than the rookie, which is exactly why he’s slightly ahead of him at the moment. His time in Seattle with the Seahawks appears to have given him the edge over Lee, too, as he got a decent amount of play time with the team last preseason and practiced with Russell Wilson and Brett Hundley throughout the 2018 regular season.
Lee, who was taken a round ahead of McGough last year, will have some catching up to do as it appears he’s in last place for the Jags’ No. 2 quarterback spot. Simply put, McGough has been what the staff expected Lee to be minicamp and OTAs, while Minshew has slightly outperformed the second-year player, too. That means he’ll have the most work to do of the three competitors in training camp with McGough and Lee clearly having more momentum by their sides.
