This year may bring the most closely followed Jaguars training camp ever, with No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence coming to town and quarterback-turned-tight end Tim Tebow vying for a roster spot. Urban Meyer‘s role as a first-time NFL coach will be scrutinized as well.
The new Jacksonville HC addressed these topics recently. Lawrence is expected to be the Jaguars’ Week 1 starter, but the Jags interestingly pumped the brakes on this expected ascension recently. Meyer confirmed his franchise-QB hopeful is not quite there yet.
“He’s not ready yet, but he doesn’t have to be ready yet,” Meyer said during an interview with USA Today’s Mackenzie Salmon (h/t 247sports.com). “We got a long training camp coming up. He’s probably advanced maybe a little quicker than we would’ve thought, which was a positive.
“One thing that we worked on, when we made a decision that Trevor was going to be our No. 1 pick, we went from the evaluation stage to the preparation stage. And that means that I want to see. I can’t remember the exact date, but we started installing the playbook with him well before the draft. So you can see the retention. He’s got a really good work ethic and he’s progressed very well.”
Replacing Kelly Bryant as a true freshman at Clemson, Lawrence rocketed onto the NFL radar by leading the Tigers to the 2018 national championship. Lawrence was viewed as the likely 2021 top pick for years. The Jags securing that selection helped lead Meyer to Jacksonville, so it would certainly be stunning if Gardner Minshew or C.J. Beathard started in Week 1.
Despite Tebow not having played in a regular-season game since 2012, the former Heisman winner and playoff QB starter will go to camp with the Jags. Meyer said earlier this month Tebow has done a “decent job” since joining the Jaguars. Last month, 46% of PFR readers said Tebow would make Jacksonville’s 53-man roster, while another 25% said the ex-Broncos QB1 and Mets farmhand would land on the practice squad.
“The last thing you just said is the tough part – there’s 53. And that’s new to me,” Meyer said, via Salmon (video link). “That’s the reality of the NFL – that you have 90 players. So to me he’s one of 90. What’s the difference between him and the other 40 guys trying to make the team? To me it’s all the same. This is their livelihood. This is a job. This is a way to make a living and the reality is a good percentage of your roster is going to get cut or transitioned out of here which to me, that’s completely new.”
The Jags signed Chris Manhertz, a Panther in 2020, and drafted Ohio State’s Luke Farrell in Round 5. Veteran James O’Shaughnessy remains on the team as well. Tebow, 2020 sixth-round pick Tyler Davis and 2020 UDFA Ben Ellefson round out the Jags’ tight end contingent. The Jags potentially planning wildcat-type looks for Tebow may give him an edge, but teams keeping more than four tight ends on an active roster is fairly rare.
Let me just start a “Gardner Minshew is underrated” thread right here.
no
No.
No
I might be the first to say this but no
As the first person to say no, I’m gonna have to go with no.
Uhhhhh, no.
Personally don’t get all the No’s. He is underrated. Is he great? Don’t know, he’s been on a bad team with a bad coach and no real talent and still looked pretty damn good at times. People bash him and act like he’s terrible but I’ve seen terrible QBs with a ton of talent, super rosters and not able to put some of the games he was able to. Not at all saying he could go to a team with a bunch of talent and be one of the best in the game but I do think if he has a better coach and some talent he could be a pretty decent QB, put up numbers and help a team out Thats needing a QB
Gardner Minshew on the right team would do great. I would love to see a team like the Broncos or the Steelers trade for him.
Steelers won games with Duck Hodges and Rudolph. I’d take Minshew over both.
Probably wont get you a Lombardi, but he’d be entertaining to watch on a good team.
What goes thru someone’s head when they go on a site that solely discusses sports and thinks it’s a great place to post his thoughts on something like this.
Something like what?
probably responding to a now deleted comment
It’s going to be wild when Tim Tebow ends up as the starting QB and Trevor Lawrence has to move to TE to get playing time.
Tickets as low as $682 for that mid October Sunday night game against the Dolphins?