The Jacksonville Jaguars have done a good job of signing their own talent, so they don't have many tough choices to make ahead of free agency. That said, they will decide what to do with the backup quarterback with Mac Jones slated to hit the open market. In case he leaves, it looks like the Jags have a plan.
Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports reports that Jacksonville was one of seven teams that held a formal meeting with Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. The other clubs were the New Orleans Saints, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Indianapolis Colts, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New York Jets, and the Tennessee Titans.
#Texas QB Quinn Ewers tells me he had seven formal meetings here at the combine: #Jaguars, #Titans, #Jets, #Saints, #Raiders, #Colts, #Steelers
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 28, 2025
Only two - the Steelers and Raiders - did NOT put him on the whiteboard. He said they were far more focused on him as a human.
Unlike the other teams that met with Ewers, the Jaguars aren't in need of a starting quarterback. If the former Longhorn went to any of the clubs he talked to, he would probably compete for a starting job at some point. In Jacksonville, he would sit behind Trevor Lawrence.
This is a relatively thin quarterback class. Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are the top prospects at the position and will likely go early in the first round. But apart from those two, teams who need immediate help behind center will either need to dip their toes in free agency or the draft.
Ewers, in particular, is seen as a Day 2-early Day 3 prospect. He has the arm strength and the ball placement to thrive in the pros, but his lower-body mechanics are erratic and lack consistency. Dame Parson of the Bleacher Report scouting department has a third-round grade on him.
The Jaguars happen to have two third-round picks in this year's draft, so they would be in a position to select the Texas native. Here's a fragment of Parson's report on him.
"Overall, Quinn Ewers is a talented, point guard-style quarterback prospect. He possesses starting-caliber talent but lacks consistency or the killer instinct to put opponents away when the opportunity presents itself. Ewers can benefit from learning behind an established veteran before being given the chance to take the reigns of an NFL franchise."
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Quinn Ewers would be an intriguing backup for the Jaguars
It's uncertain, from an outside perspective, whether the Jacksonville Jaguars want to retain Mac Jones in free agency. A first-round pick by the New England Patriots in 2021, the former Alabama standout was traded to the Jags last year in exchange for a sixth-round selection and saw plenty of playing time once Trevor Lawrence got hurt.
Jones got off to a bad start but played a bit better once he got more comfortable behind center. That said, he managed to win just one game in Lawrence's absence and finished the year with a 65.3 completion percent rate for 1,672 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Re-signing Jones probably wouldn't be cost-prohibitive, but the new regime may want to upgrade the backup position behind center. If that's the case, investing a third-round selection in Quinn Ewers would make sense. Sure, the Jags would need to develop him, but there's a chance he may be better than Jones down the road. Moreover, he would be on a rookie deal, so Jacksonville could keep him the next four years at an affordable rate.
The only potential downside of making a run for Ewers is that other teams who have a more pressing need at quarterback than the Jaguars could draft him before they do. They would need a backup plan in case they miss out on him.
In the end, though, there's a strong chance the Jaguars won't have a shot at drafting Quinn Ewers, but that shouldn't deter them from doing due diligence. After all, there's always a chance he could fall to them, and if he does, they'll know what to do.