Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 veteran options at the QB position

Will the Jacksonville Jaguars make a decision to bring in a veteran quarterback before the start of the season?

Andy Dalton isn’t a member of Jacksonville Jaguars. But there was a very real possibility that he could’ve been the next veteran quarterback presence in an extremely young Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback room before he opted to sign with the Dallas Cowboys.

Still, the Jaguars need to add a veteran to their quarterback room with only 12 combined starts (all from second-year starter Gardner Minshew). For the sake of this article, I am taking out Cam Newton as a candidate to join the team since it appears he could be waiting to sign with a team where he can immediately be the starter. It does not appear that this would be the case here in Duval County.

Before all the Minshew Maniacs come out from the woodwork yelling about how he is the guy and no one should even come close to competing for the job, let me just remind you that the same thing was said about Blake Bortles. Do we really want to go down that road?

I mean seriously, if you are arguing that the franchise should just hand the keys over to a sixth-round pick in year two who has already shown to be prone to get beat up then, by all means, I would love to sell you a sweet piece of swampland.

Minshew has proven to be a capable NFL signal-caller with starting level abilities and game tendencies that while exciting, can also break down plays unnecessarily leading to costly turnovers (13 fumbles last year).

Don’t get me wrong, Minshew is definitely a quarterback that can get the Jacksonville Jaguars eight wins this season. Adding a veteran to the mix who can mentor and push Minshew means this team may have a quarterback who can get the Jaguars into the playoffs and beyond.

Point is, you want to see what Minshew has to offer while also adding the security of having a serviceable backup (Sorry, Joshua Dobbs) as well as be a guiding force in advancing a quarterback room that has been below average for over a decade.

Here are three veteran quarterback options not named Cam Newton/Andy Dalton but all named Josh (strictly coincidental).

Josh McCown

Josh McCown is the epitome of a quarterback coach on the roster.

As a journeyman, he has had the recent opportunity to mentor both Sam Darnold and Carson Wentz while being able to step in when necessary (and even compete after tearing his hamstring). This fit would provide Minshew a fantastic mentor while adding some insurance in the event of an injury as McCown has shown to be ready and willing to step up the plate when needed. ‘

The only hurdle would be if McCown would want to step back on the gridiron.

Josh Rosen

Probably one of the weirdest quarterback journeys out there, Josh Rosen could be someone the Jaguars acquire from the Dolphins after originally being drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

He was then traded the year after, for a second-round pick. Rosen’s value is pretty much in the trash after not being able to beat out Ryan Fitzpatrick in Miami. What I like about Rosen is out of the three Josh’s, he would be the one who could push Minshew the greatest given his first-round pedigree and chip on his shoulder.

The only question I have here is this would be the fourth draft pick (19′ 6th Minshew, 20′ 5th Dobbs, 20′ 6th Lutton) in two years the Jaguars would have used on the backup quarterback position but arguably, this would be the player with the most upside.

Personally, I am in the camp where you can’t have too many capable quarterbacks. Will he truly be the Rosen One?

Josh Johnson

Okay, guys hear me out. When researching quarterbacks with experience under the team’s new offensive coordinator, this was pretty much the only available quarterback with experience in the Jay Gruden offense (Bengals in 13′ and Redskins in 18′).

Kirk Cousins, RGIII, Colt McCoy, Nate Sudfeld, Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins are all notables who are currently under contract with their respected teams.

This leaves Josh Johnson who most recently played in XFL for the LA Wildcats, by no means would he be able to compete with Minshew but he could serve as a quarterback with at least SOME starting experience (eight career starts) plus familiarity in a Jay Gruden offense. That is something no one else on the market (Dalton aside) can offer.

Just Missed the Cut

Joe Flacco (no thank you), Matt Moore (eh, maybe), Eli Manning (yuck), Mike Glennon (beat out by Mitchell Trubisky).

Looking at the three options (Ironically all named Josh) presented here it is quite clear that if the Jacksonville Jaguars are in fact looking to upgrade their quarterback room in any way, the options aren’t that great.

However, those mentioned could at least serve as a mentor for Minshew to develop and possibly flourish in a new system. When it comes down to it, the Jaguars cannot go into the season with Josh Dobbs as their backup, even if they believe Minshew is “The Guy”.

Next. Jaguars: changes could lead to more wins in 2020. dark

Home/Jaguars Free Agency