The Jacksonville Jaguars should build around Gardner Minshew

The Jacksonville Jaguars must devise a plan to build around Gardner Minshew for the future of this franchise.

The Jacksonville Jaguars got some good news on Tuesday when the team announced that quarterback Gardner Minshew was removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list and is now an active member of the team’s 90-man roster.

The Jaguars have their leader back and any fears of him missing time this season so far have been alleviated.

Now, it’s time to concentrate on what lies ahead for the second-year pro and the team as they try to produce a winning season for the first time in three years. Minshew, who walks into the 2020 campaign as the undisputed leader of this team, faces an uphill challenge to prove much of the national media is wrong in its assessment of the former sixth-round quarterback.

While Minshew is calm and collected in front of the local media, he is as fierce a competitor on the playing field – a quality that has led to the locker room playing follow the leader.

Many veterans have talked openly about how Minshew’s determination and drive are infectious and how teammates want to play for him, trying to erase the stigma of losing that is associated with this franchise.

There is as much pressure on Minshew this season as any quarterback in the league, but because of how the Jaguars played last season, the position of the owner to show progression throughout the entire organization and the fact wherever he has landed, there has been opposition that he cannot get the job done, the Mississippi native once again goes to battle with odds against him.

I’m not a betting man, but Minshew is someone I would not bet against this season.

All offseason, the narrative has been the same. What can Gardner Minshew do to help the Jacksonville Jaguars win football games? Why can’t that question change? What if it should read, “What can players on the Jaguars roster do to help Gardner Minshew?”

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It seems all too often – especially in Jacksonville – the quarterback is the one on the hot seat. It’s been true since 2011. Now, a quarterback comes in, has a decent rookie season, wins six games on a mediocre team, and still is questioned if he is the right man for the job?

Seriously? The national media already has him riding the bench in 2021. The Jaguars – according to pundits – already have the first pick in the 2021 Draft. Why does this team need to play the 2020 season?

I have said this before and it bears repeating. Let Gardner Minshew play the 2020 season before recommendations are made about his career? Let the coaching staff get as much talent out of the roster before a change is made. Finally, let Minshew prove his worth in a full season. There is too much controversy already for there to be more Chutzpah thrown around.

Let Minshew play. Make him the one who decides his future. And, more than anything, leave the management decisions to the Jaguars front office. It might be a more surprising season than anyone anticipated.