Nick Foles named Jaguars starter over Gardner Minshew

Gardner Minshew played admirably well for a late-round rookie at the quarterback position, but the Jacksonville Jaguars have decided to switch back to Nick Foles after a blowout loss in Week 9.

At 4-5, the Jacksonville Jaguars are just one game behind the second-place Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South and still have a real shot at making the postseason now that the NFL season is past its midway point.

But after Gardner Minshew helped give the Jaguars a chance with some inspired play at the quarterback position, the Jaguars have decided to make the switch back to the passer they handed a large contract to this offseason.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Jaguars have decided to give the starting quarterback gig back to Nick Foles, who has been out since Week 1 with a broken collarbone.

Minshew moves to the bench after throwing 13 touchdowns and four interceptions with a yards per attempt average of 7.4 in nine appearances. As a whole, Minshew was quite impressive under center despite only being a sixth-round pick, and the former Heisman Trophy candidate under Mike Leach at Washington State has shown that he can be a valid starter in this league.

However, the Jaguars are at a critical point of the 2019 season and are coming off of a bad loss to the rival Houston Texans in London. The Jaguars need a spark, and judging by what Foles did in 2017 and 2018 as the Philadelphia Eagles super-sub for Carson Wentz, it’s fair to say that he has the potential to be that spark for Jacksonville.

Of course, the Jaguars will need their talented-but-inconsistent young wide receivers to step up and help. Foles should be able to lean on a strong defense and Leonard Fournette on the ground, but he’ll also need to make some big plays with his receivers in order for the Jaguars to keep up in the heated Wild Card race.

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