Thoughts on Gardner Minshew’s return for the Jaguars in Week 14

Gardner Minshew made his return for the Jaguars in Week 14.

Minshew has missed the last seven weeks with a thumb injury and was put in as the starter in place of Mike Glennon midway through the third quarter against the Titans. At that point, the Jaguars were losing 31-3.

It’s been a bit of a series of events for Minshew and the Jaguars. He was benched after the team had found out he had been hiding a thumb injury from the team. As Minshew recovered, or was punished—however you want to look at it—the Jaguars started rookie Jake Luton for three games before moving on to veteran Mike Glennon in Week 12.

The Jaguars don’t know what to do at quarterback at this point and while fans don’t want to hear it, Gardner Minshew gives Jacksonville’s offense their best chance. He may not be perfect and still has a ways to go to improve, but the offense really feels like it takes a step up when he is on the field.

Jaguars should stick with Minshew for the rest of the season

Minshew has the confidence to be a starting quarterback. He just needs to make a big jump between this year and next if he wants to keep his job, especially with the strong likelihood of the front office drafting a quarterback early.

Minshew can’t expect to make this jump on his own though. The Jaguars really have to provide Minshew the foundation to progress. He needs a good developmental QB coach and a creative offensive coordinator who can call the right plays. Minshew still needs to work on his decision-making and patience in the pocket, while the Jaguars need to lay off the conservative play-calling and start attacking the deeper areas of the field.

Minshew will return to the starting lineup in week 15.