QBs on the roster: Nick Foles, Gardner Minshew, Alex McGough, Tanner Lee Football season is inching closer and closer, and in preparation for it to finally arrive, each week I'll be introducing you to a different position group on the Jacksonville Jaguars roster. This week we'll meet the quarterbacks. The Jaguars made headlines in March when they signed quarterback Nick Foles to a four-year contract worth $88 million. Expected to come in and immediately improve the Jaguars' offense, Foles has already displayed the leadership and arm talent in OTA's and minicamp that had so many excited about his arrival in Jacksonville. In his career, he's thrown for over 11,00 yards for 68 TDs and 33 interceptions and won Super Bowl LII MVP. The Jaguars' coaching staff has been singing his praises, and if he is as good as advertised, Foles should raise the level of play of everyone around him. The success of the Jaguars is tied to the success of Nick Foles in 2019. Despite getting their guy in free agency in Nick Foles, the Jaguars do have some question marks further down the depth chart at the QB position. The Jaguars won't keep four quarterbacks on their final 53 man roster, so that leaves 2018 sixth-round pick, Tanner Lee, 2018 seventh-round pick, Alex McGough (Seattle), and 2019 sixth-round pick, Gardner Minshew, competing for one or two roster spots.
Tanner Lee was promoted off the practice squad to the active roster in December of 2018 but has yet to play in an NFL game. His shaky (putting it mildly) preseason performance in 2018 has led many to believe he was a wasted pick. Only time will tell if Lee can make progress in his second year. Personally, I think that McGough is a camp arm and won't be on the active roster once the Jaguars need to start making cuts. McGough is kind of in the mold of the of Blake Bortles, but with better accuracy. He's a big, athletic QB with playmaking ability, but he may struggle to be effective in a west-coast style offense. McGough and Lee both have a year of experience on Gardner Minshew, having spent 2018 with the Seahawks and Jaguars respectively. And there have been some concerns about Minshew's arm strength. With that being said, I'm still buying into the Minshew hype, and like him to earn the backup job. "The thing about Gardner that I'm very impressed with is he's a very football-smart guy," said OC John DeFilippo. "He really understands football." Whether or not the Jaguars keep two or three QBs will likely depend on if McGough or Lee can operate John DeFilippo's offense with high efficiency throughout training camp and the preseason. Regardless of who makes the team as a backup, the Jaguars have ZERO veteran presence behind Nick Foles as the roster currently stands. Time will tell if that will come back to bite them. Follow Andrew on Twitter. |
