Mike Glennon

Giants To Sign QB Mike Glennon

The Giants have signed veteran quarterback Mike Glennon. A pal of Glennon’s, Brandon Bishop, first broke the news on Twitter. It has since been confirmed by several reporters, including NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal worth $1.35MM, including $425K guaranteed, per Dan Duggan of The Athletic (on Twitter).

Glennon has started in just nine games since 2016, but remains a highly respected backup and mentor. In New York, he’ll backstop and quasi-coach youngster Daniel Jones who will look to rekindle his rookie year magic.

Glennon, 31, projects to replace Colt McCoy, who failed to impress last year. Meanwhile, Glennon’s five starts in Jacksonville didn’t go so great, either. All in all, he completed 62% of his throws for 1,072 yards and seven touchdowns against five interceptions.

Terms of Glennon’s deal are not yet known, but it’ll pale in comparison to the three-year, $45MM deal he inked with the Bears in 2017. In total, Glennon has earned roughly $30MM across his pro career.

QB Mike Glennon To Start For Jaguars On Sunday

The Jaguars are turning back to Mike Glennon. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the veteran quarterback will start for Jacksonville tomorrow.

Glennon had started three games in a row before the Jaguars turned to Gardner Minshew last weekend. While Jacksonville predictably got blown out by the Ravens, Minshew still completed 22 of his 29 pass attempts for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions (he also lost a fumble). With Jacksonville aiming for presumed first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence, you’ve got to wonder if the organization is turning to the quarterback who gives them the worst shot at winning against the Bears this weekend.

The 31-year-old Glennon has started three games this season, completing 61-percent of his passes for 600 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. For comparison’s sake, the 24-year-old Minshew has completed 66.1-percent of his passes for 2,259 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. The Jaguars even briefly turned to sixth-round rookie Jake Luton, who had two touchdowns and six interceptions in three starts.

There is a bit of intrigue in Glennon starting, as the veteran famously signed a lucrative three-year, $45MM deal with the Bears in 2017. After one season and only four games started, Glennon was released by Chicago. Since his stint with the Bears, the former Buccaneers draft pick has spent time with the Cardinals and Raiders. He signed with the Jaguars this offseason, and after getting cut at the end of preseason, he caught on with the practice squad.

Jaguars To Start Gardner Minshew

It’s the return of Minshew Mania in Jacksonville. On Monday, Doug Marrone named Gardner Minshew as his starting quarterback moving forward. 

Marrone gave Mike Glennon the hook in the third quarter of their loss to the Titans. It was too-little-too-late, as the Jags went on to lose 31-10, but Minshew made an early statement with a touchdown on his first drive and 178 passing yards to close out the game. Still, Marrone was hesitant to anoint Minshew as the No. 1 QB in the immediate aftermath.

As far as moving forward, I haven’t spoken to both guys so just out of respect for them, obviously I have in my mind what I want to do but I’m actually going to make sure I speak to them first, before I do something through the media,” Marrone said (via ESPN.com). “[Glennon] threw some good balls and we left some plays out there and he had some drops. I think it’s not on one person. I mean, I think everyone can see that.

Minshew — who is now fully or mostly recovered from his injured thumb — will be fighting for his future. The Jaguars may look to draft a passer in the first round, though they’re also second in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.

Extra Points: 2021 Cap, Glennon, Fields

When the NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement earlier this year to play the 2021 season under unprecedented circumstances, it was settled that the 2021 salary cap would be no lower than $175MM. That still would’ve been a steep drop from the $198.2MM figure for 2020. Fortunately for the players, it looks like the NFLPA could avoid that doomsday scenario and then some, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. A source told Florio that the prospect of stadiums full of fans looking better for 2021 has the league office feeling a little more generous.

Florio writes that the “potential of a return to something normal or close to it” for 2021 could end up having the league keep the cap “in the range” of $195MM, which would mean practically no drop at all. Of course, with the ever-changing nature of COVID-19 and the current environment, there’s still a lot left to be determined. As Florio notes, the league won’t make its final decision until late February or early March, so there’s still plenty of time for things to change. This will be an interesting storyline to monitor as the offseason approaches.

Here’s more from around the league as Week 13 winds down:

  • Mike Glennon and the Jaguars came up just short of a huge upset when they lost in overtime to the Vikings, but he apparently did enough to keep the job for another week. Glennon will start for Jacksonville in Week 14, head coach Doug Marrone said after the game. Glennon moved the ball decently against Minnesota, but turned the ball over three times. That still wasn’t enough for Marrone to turn back to Gardner Minshew. “I think he still gives us the best chance to win as of right now so I’m going to stick with him right now for this week,” Marrone said, per John Oehser of the team’s official site. As you can see, Marrone certainly didn’t commit to him for the rest of the season and it wouldn’t be surprising if Minshew gets the call at any time. The 1-11 Jags have lost 11 in a row, although four of their last five losses have been by four points or fewer. Glennon, Minshew, and sixth-round rookie Jake Luton have all started multiple games in this disastrous campaign.
  • Speaking of the Jags, they are one of several teams likely to be looking for a quarterback in the first-round of this coming April’s draft. It’s looking like an excellent class of passers, with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields clearly at the top. While they’re considered by many to be the top two picks in the draft, Lawrence will be “graded significantly higher” by scouts than Fields, Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com writes. That probably won’t surprise you, but what Pauline said next might. The long-time draft insider writes that Fields will grade higher on teams’ boards than 2020 first overall pick Joe Burrow. The only reason Lawrence will be clearly ahead of Fields is since Lawrence is viewed as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck. If Fields is going to be considered a better pro prospect than the highly touted Burrow, getting the second overall pick instead of first might not be that bad for Jacksonville or whoever else.

Jaguars To Keep Mike Glennon As Starter

Despite Gardner Minshew beating out Mike Glennon for the Jaguars’ starting quarterback job this summer, Doug Marrone has changed his tune — for Week 13, at least.

Marrone said Wednesday that Minshew has recovered from the thumb injury that shook up Jacksonville’s quarterback situation in the first place. But Glennon — the third Jags QB to start this season — will remain the team’s starter, Marrone said (via the Florida Times-Union’s Gene Frenette, on Twitter).

Although this is a promotion for Glennon, Marrone cautioned the Jaguars’ quarterback depth chart may fluctuate further down the stretch, per ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco (on Twitter). A benching like this, however, is a bad sign for Minshew’s future as Jacksonville’s quarterback. That said, the team was long believed to be in the mix for a passer in the 2021 first round. The Jags are in second in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes, having lost 10 straight. Minshew profiled as a stopgap, even though the Jaguars passed on several notable veterans this offseason to keep him as their starter.

A 2013 third-round pick who has bounced around since his 2017 Bears agreement, Glennon started for the first time since 2017 last week. He threw for 235 yards, two touchdowns — with no interceptions — and had the team a failed two-point conversion away from forging a tie with the Browns late in Sunday’s game.

The Jaguars signed Glennon in May, cut him four months later but brought him back on the practice squad ahead of Week 1. The former Buccaneer, Bear, Cardinal and Raider followed rookie Jake Luton in the progression of Jaguar QB1s this season.

Jaguars To Start Mike Glennon

The Jaguars will start Mike Glennon on Sunday against the Browns, head coach Doug Marrone announced. Glennon will take over for Jake Luton, who been serving as the starting quarterback in place of Gardner Minshew.

Many expected Glennon to get the call when Minshew was first sidelined with a strained ligament and fractures in his right thumb. Instead, they went with the sixth-round rookie out of Oregon State over the 30-year-old vet with 22 career starts under his belt.

It’s worth noting that Glennon has attempted just 31 passes over the past two-plus seasons. Luton, who impressed in practice and managed to complete 68% of his throws in his debut against the Texans, has struggled across his last two games. In his last time out against the Jaguars, Luton went 16-for-37 on his attempts with four interceptions and zero touchdowns.

With that, Glennon is set for his first start since 2017. Meanwhile, Marrone says that Minshew is on the path to recovery. With a full week of practice, Minshew may be ready to go against the Vikings on Dec. 6.

Jaguars To Start QB Jake Luton This Weekend

Jake Luton will likely be under center for the Jaguars this weekend. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the rookie quarterback is expected to start against the Texans on Sunday. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds (on Twitter) that Luton will get starter reps at practice this week.

We learned last week that Jaguars starting quarterback Gardner Minshew had been diagnosed with multiple fractures in his right thumb (in addition to a strained ligament). Minshew reportedly suffered the injury in early October and had played through the pain, and staffers only learned of the injury last week. Following the revelation, the team decided to sideline their starter.

The decision to start Luton comes as a bit of a surprise. The team is also rostering veteran Mike Glennon, who has bounced between the practice squad and active roster this season. The 30-year-old has 22 career starts under his belt, although he’s only attempted a combined 31 passes over the past two-plus seasons.

So, the team will instead turn to Luton, a sixth-round rookie out of Oregon State. Luton had a breakout season for the Beavers in 2019, completing 62-percent of his passes for 2,714 yards, 28 touchdowns, and three interceptions. We heard last week that the Jaguars coaching staff was impressed with the rookie, and considering the team is currently 1-6, it makes a bit of sense to see what they’ve got in the 24-year-old.

Jaguars’ Gardner Minshew To Miss Time?

Nov. 1: Minshew is expected to be inactive for next week’s game against Houston, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Glennon and sixth-round rookie Jake Luton will battle for the starting job in practice, and while Glennon obviously offers far more experience than Luton, coaches have been impressed with the young Oregon State signal-caller. With Jacksonville sitting at 1-6, it would not be surprising to see Luton get the nod.

Oct. 29: Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew has been diagnosed with multiple fractures in his right thumb, plus a strained ligament (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). With that, his availability is in question for the Jags’ next game against the Texans after the bye week. 

Minshew has been in pain since Oct. 11, when he suffered the injury in the team’s last meeting with the Texans. Jaguars staffers only just found out about Minshew’s injury this week, which means they may prompt them to start backup Mike Glennon in Week 9.

The injury would help to explain his recent performance. Against the Chargers, Minshew completed just over half of his passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He was also sacked multiple times early on, which didn’t help matters either.

Last year, Minshew went 6-6 as the Jaguars’ starter while setting franchise records in yards (3,271) and touchdowns (21) for rookie QBs. This year, he’s gone 1-6 with 1,855 yards and 13 touchdowns against five interceptions.

In other Jaguars injury news, return specialist Dede Westbrook has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL. Fortunately, Minshew’s injury is far less severe.

Jags Could Bench QB Gardner Minshew

Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew has generally been a fun player to follow since he entered the league as an unheralded sixth-round pick in last year’s draft. He was surprisingly thrust into action in Week 1 of the 2019 season, and in 14 games, he threw for 21 TDs against just six interceptions and a 91.2 passer rating. Though there were some concerns, including 13 fumbles, he acquitted himself about as well as a sixth-round rookie could.

And when Jacksonville traded Nick Foles this offseason, it paved the way for Minshew to become the unquestioned starter in 2020. But after he led his team to a Week 1 win over the Colts, Minshew’s play has fallen off. His raw statistics look decent enough — he’s completed 67.5% of his passes for 11 TDs and five interceptions, good for a 94.1 QB rating — but much of his production has come with the Jaguars trailing.

Fumbling continues to be an issue, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests that Jacksonville could bench Minshew, perhaps as soon as this afternoon’s game against the Chargers. Current backup signal-caller Mike Glennon would get the nod if that happens.

Since the 1-5 Jags are clearly not going to contend for a playoff spot — and since the soon-to-be 31-year-old Glennon is hardly the long-term answer — it would make sense for them to at least see more of Minshew before reevaluating their QB situation this offseason. But perhaps the club believes it has a good idea of what Minshew can do at this point and wants to see what it has in rookie Jake Luton, whom the team selected in the sixth round of this year’s draft.

Indeed, Rapoport says that if Jacksonville turns to Glennon today, it will then use its bye next week to determine how it wants to move forward. That would seem to be the ideal time to give Luton, a strong-armed passer from Oregon State, his shot to be this year’s Minshew.

Jaguars Promote Mike Glennon

The Jaguars have promoted Mike Glennon from the practice squad to the active roster, per a club announcement. Glennon, who will serve as the team’s third quarterback behind Gardner Minshew and rookie Jake Luton, will take the place of linebacker Quincy Williams, who has been placed on IR. 

Luton, a sixth-round pick, pulled off a training camp upset over Glennon and Joshua Dobbs. Still, the Jaguars didn’t want to let the 30-year-old get away. After dropping Glennon from the roster, they quickly scooped him up and stashed him on the practice squad. It’s pretty unusual to see a player with Glennon’s experience on the p-squad, but this is an unusual year, to say the least. The Eagles just made a similar move to backstop their QBs by signing 41-year-old Josh McCown to their practice squad for extra insurance under center.

Glennon has attempted just 31 passes over the last two years combined. For his career, he’s logged 22 starts, 36 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.

In related moves, the Jags released cornerback Tramaine Brock from IR while adding defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale and former Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones to the taxi squad.