Jaguars rookie QB Gardner Minshew had a nice run this season. In eight starts, Minshew was able to go 4-4. Also, in those eight starts(nine games), Minshew was able to put some quality numbers(2285 yards passing, 13 touchdowns). However, in his last start against the Texans, Minshew struggled with turnovers. The sixth-round pick in this year’s draft threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles.
Ultimately, with Nick Foles healthy and ready to go, the Jaguars decided that Foles was the guy to lead the team moving forward, and according to Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone, he could sense that Minshew was disappointed in the decision.
“Like I said before, we had a good conversation, a tough conversation for me, because I appreciate what he’s done,” Marrone said about Minshew on Monday. “And specifically pointing out a couple things that we need to keep progressing with him and working on, and I’m sure he’s a competitor.
“I’m sure there’s some level of disappointment personally, but the great part about Gardner [Minshew II] is that he’s going to do whatever he can to help this team win, and he knows that there are things that he’s going to work on and he’s going to improve upon, which is going to make him even better the next time he has an opportunity.”
Anytime you give a player a four-year, $88 million contract, you are going to give him every opportunity to get on the field, and based on how Minshew performed against the Texans, the Jaguars really had no choice but to go back to Foles.
Making the playoffs might be a difficult task for the 4-5 Jaguars, but if Foles, who is streaky, can get on a roll, maybe this team could have shot. “Minshew Mania” was fun. However, it’s time to see what Foles can do.
Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles is healthy, and on Tuesday, Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone decided that he will start in Week 11 against the Colts. Jacksonville is on a bye in Week 10.
Foles, 30, who signed a four-year, $88 million deal this offseason, has missed the last eight games due to a broken left collarbone, which he suffered in Week 1 against the Chiefs.
As a whole, rookie QB Gardner Minshew played reasonably well but struggled last week against the Texans. In that game, Minshew had four turnovers(two interceptions, two fumbles). In nine games(eight starts), Minshew has thrown for 2285 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.
On Tuesday, Marrone explained why he decided to go back to Foles:
(Opening Statement)
Marrone: “First of all, I appreciate you guys coming here earlier. But I wanted to do this, and I think a lot of you guys know when I’ve felt this before, I want to make sure you guys hear things firsthand. I just got done with the team meeting [and] I’ve made a decision on the quarterbacks and Nick [Foles] will be our starting quarterback going forward. It was obviously my decision. I worked hard on it, came to it. I brought both players in this morning [and] spoke to both of them. After I spoke to the players and obviously I wanted to make sure I spoke to the team and then I wanted to get it to our media before they heard it anywhere else, where I can’t control. So, I appreciate that. We’re going through self-scout, all the things now to try to get ourselves better. I think you always find something out during this period of time. And then obviously the challenge is how do you correct it and go forward? We believe coming back that everyone that we have on the roster will be healthy, so that’s what we’re looking forward to. And I told the players, ‘Hey, let’s get away a little bit.’ Let’s come back and let’s get focused on Indianapolis.”
(On what changed his mind to making the decision before the Bye Week)
Marrone: “One of the things that I’ve learned in coaching is that it’s very difficult when – it’s tougher to make decisions when you give yourself a hard timeline, a short timeline. So, for me, when I looked at it, and I wasn’t going to put a lot of time into it prior to the game – the thought process of the quarterback position – I looked at the schedule and I said, ‘OK, what’s the most amount of time that I would have,’ before I had to make a decision. So, I wanted to get that out there to kind of give myself that time if I needed it. Going through, what I did, I took time, obviously I got the game [film] done on the way home from London. [I] stayed up, got a good night’s sleeps, woke up, started working on the quarterback decision right away. I came to a decision and I thought once you come to a decision, you might as well tell the people. I told the players today and I want to get it to you, and I just wanted to do the right thing.”
(On when he came to the decision)
Marrone: “This morning.”
(On how QB Gardner Minshew II took the decision)
Marrone: “I think Gardner’s a competitor. I think that what he’s done. He’s done a great job. I feel a whole lot different about him now than I did prior to him playing in a very positive way. We took some things and had some discussions on things that we’re going to work on going forward which will give him the ability to be a player in this league for a long time. We really believe that.”
(On Minshew’s reaction to the news)
Marrone: “I think you can go and ask him. I mean, obviously when I say someone’s a competitor, and they hear something like that, I think everyone can figure that out.”
(On how much the Week 9 game against Houston impacted the starting QB decision)
Marrone: “I try to take that out and put it as a body of work, and that’s what I did. I think that’s important. I think emotions can run sometimes differently, so I looked at the body of work.”
(On if Minshew’s shoulder soreness impacted his play in London)
Marrone: “I wasn’t even on that thought. He was ready to go.”
(On what factors led him to pick Foles as the starting QB)
Marrone: “I think for me, looking back at all of the work, the work that we put in and I just go back to the experience and what he’s going to be able to do. And I think that’s going to give us the ability [to have] a better chance of winning right now.”
(On how they plan to get Foles back up to speed)
Marrone: “He’s had a 21-day window, which we’ve brought him back. We’ve progressively brought him back into drills and brought him into some high speed, close quarter rushing [drills], where guys were coming at him, blitzes where people were coming free. We felt like we did the best job to make sure that he was in position to be ready once he was healthy.”
(On if Foles will be in the practice facility during the Bye Week)
Marrone: “I don’t know. If you’re asking [if] we have anything planned to do with him? No. But is he going to be gone? I don’t know that.”
(On when Minshew’s play made him question who should be the starter)
Marrone: “I don’t know if I had that thought process, because I don’t think you can do a good enough job for the person that’s there. In your mind, if I’m dancing with this person, but I know at the end of the night I’m going to be dancing with this other [person], I don’t think I’m going to be dancing that well with the first one. So, for me, I don’t really look at it that way.”
(On if the team’s red zone issues factored into the QB decision)
Marrone: “Not into the individual quarterback play decision. I think when you look at our ability in the red zone, I don’t think you can pin it on one person. I think collectively as a group, starting with us as coaches, we have to do a better job, and we have to put our players in better position, and we have to make plays down there. Obviously, we’re not doing well and that’ll be a big focus when we look at this self-scout of what better answers we can have.”
(On if he feels fortunate to have a 4-5 record after losing their QB in Week 1 of the season)
Marrone: “I think that’s another tough question. I’m disappointed in myself that I haven’t been able to do a better job for the fans and this team and having more wins because that’s what our job is. The story in the beginning was I feel a lot better because I did not know what we had as a backup quarterback going into the season, and I feel that right now we have two really good quarterbacks. And I think, I told the team today, the example of Gardner, as an example that’s been going on quite a bit on this team, but it doesn’t get as publicized, or I might not bring it up to the team as much, and I brought it up today. I think people like Najee Goode, who was brought here as a backup linebacker who’s starting now. Guys like Tre Herndon, who was thrown into a [starting] role and is playing well for us. Keelan Cole who came in as a free agent, then he had some success, then he really wasn’t playing as much these past couple of weeks, and then all of a sudden, he had back-to-back games with touchdowns. Just being ready, and I think it’s a great example for all of our players. So, that’s how I addressed it.”
(On if he would have been content with a 4-4 record after Foles was injured)
Marrone: “You know what scares me right now? It’s that everyone’s always trying to get to you and figure out what’s going on. I’m talking about my friends, very few, but my friends. And I get a lot of the same questions you ask, and I’m thinking maybe you [Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette] and I are meant to be best friends. But I’m going to tell you exactly what I said to my friend. I said, ‘You know, as the head football coach, as someone that’s in charge of winning, I don’t have the ability to talk that way.’ If someone said, ‘Hey, 8-0, would you go for that?’ Yes! You know what I’m saying? So for me, I don’t have that because when you’re part of a team, and you have so many other players, and you expect people to step up, you believe you can overcome whatever injury or whatever thing you have. I think that’s a case of where the fans, and the people that write, or maybe the players, they would be better with being able to answer that question than someone like myself. Because if I don’t say 8-0, then I wouldn’t be the best of what I’m trying to do. So, when we get a question of, ‘How do you feel?’ well, I feel disappointed because I haven’t done a good enough job because of where we are right now. So, we’re going to fight our asses off and work our way back in to getting ourselves in position to play a game, because like I told the team, we had an opportunity last week to put ourselves in a really good position and we didn’t take advantage of it.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed WR Marqise Lee (shoulder) on the team’s reserve/injured list and promoted undrafted rookie CB Tae Hayes to the active roster, the club announced today.
Lee, who injured his shoulder against the Jets on Sunday, had three receptions for 18 yards in six games this season. This is the second straight year that Lee will end the season on injured reserve. In 2018, Lee tore his left ACL during the preseason. Lee was selected in the second round by the Jaguars in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Hayes, 5-9, 188, spent the first eight weeks of the season on the Jaguars’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are back to .500 after defeating the Jets 29-15 at home on Sunday. After losing Nick Foles to injury in Week 1 and dealing with the issues with Jalen Ramsey before trading him away to the Rams, Jacksonville(4-4) has faced a lot of adversity, but through it all, they battled, and now it’s off to London to face the Texans.
“You know, we don’t really get a lot of credit after Jalen [Ramsey] left, so hopefully we just keep earning it every day,” Jaguars corner A.J. Bouye said after the game. “But, that’s just a good job on the guys staying together. [DL Calais Campbell] has done a great job of just keeping us together in the locker room and everybody else.”
Jacksonville is on a two-game winning streak, and next Sunday’s game against the Texans(5-3) is huge for this team. The last time these two teams played was in Week 2 in Houston, which was Gardner Minshew’s first career start. Jacksonville lost that game in heartbreaking fashion to the Texans 13-12 after the Jaguars failed on a two-point conversion to take the lead late in the contest.
“We’re going up against a good team(Texans) in London,” Bouye said. “They’re in the run for the [AFC South] Division, too. We know what happened last game, so we’ve just got to stay ready this game.”
If Jacksonville wants to win the AFC South, they have to beat the Texans. A loss to the Texans would give Houston basically a three-game lead over Jacksonville because of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Also, while Jacksonville is 1.5 games behind the first-place Colts(5-2) in the division, the Jaguars play Indianapolis two times in their final eight games, so if the Jaguars want to make their move in AFC South, the time is now.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed seventh-year DT Akeem Spence to the active roster. To make room, the Jaguars placed ninth-year DT Marcell Dareus on the team’s injured/reserve list.
Spence, 6-1, 303, was originally drafted in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay, where he played in all 16 games in three of four seasons, tallying 98 tackles, including nine tackles for loss, and added three fumble recoveries. He followed his tenure in Tampa Bay with one-year stints in Detroit and Miami.
While with the Lions, Spence totaled 29 tackles and career-high-tying 3.0 sacks, before registering a career-high 42 tackles in 16 starts during the 2018 season as a member of the Dolphins. Most recently, he played in six games this season with the Eagles after signing with the team on Sept. 11, 2019 and posted seven tackles.
His career totals include 186 tackles (113 solo), including 19 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries.
Jaguars fifth-year K Josh Lambo has been named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his 13-point performance in Jacksonville’s Week 7 victory at Cincinnati. The recognition is Lambo’s second of the season as he also received the award in Week 4 after kicking the game-winning FG at Denver.
In Week 7, Lambo made all four FG attempts and his only PAT, and, through Week 7, has made 18 of 18 FG attempts and 10 of 10 PATs. Lambo’s 18 made FGs are tied with Arizona K Zane Gonzalez for the most in the NFL this season, and he joins Baltimore K Justin Tucker as the only kickers in the NFL this season with at least 15 FG attempts and a 100 pct. FG conversion rate. Since signing with the Jaguars on Oct. 17, 2017, Lambo has made 56 of 59 FGs, and his 94.9 FG conversion rate is the highest in franchise history among kickers with at least 10 FG attempts. Lambo has also made all 33 FG attempts in home games since signing with the Jaguars in 2017.
Lambo has converted 20 consecutive FGs dating back to 2018, the second-longest streak in franchise history and the longest active streak in the NFL. He already owns the Jaguars’ record for consecutive made FGs after converting 24 straight FG attempts during the 2017-18 seasons.
Lambo is the first Jaguars kicker since Josh Scobee in 2005 (Weeks 1 & 5) to win multiple AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the same season.
What happened to the Cincinnati Bengals against the Jaguars on Sunday epitomized what 2019 has been like for this team. Going into the fourth quarter, Cincinnati was up 10-9, but QB Andy Dalton would throw three interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown, as the Bengals would lose at home to the Jaguars 27-17.
Dalton finished the game completing 22 of his 43 passes for 276 yards with one passing touchdown, and one rushing TD, and 3 INTs.
“They’re just tough plays. The turnovers … they hurt us,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after the game. “We were driving there, and we had a fumble on the first drive of the second half that hurt us, (too). We had some guys go the wrong way in the run game — (that) hurt us, at about every position. So, you know, it was not the way we anticipated playing that game, and, really, it’s everybody. Every single player on that field, particularly on offense, has got to step up and do a better job.”
In reality, at 0-7. the 2019 season is essentially over for the Bengals.
“It’s very tough to be in the position we’re in right now,” Dalton said. “To not have won a game at this point, the standard is higher than that. All we can do is put our head down and go to work.”
In nine seasons, Dalton has done a lot of winning in the regular season, which led to four straight playoff appearances(2011-2014). But, he has struggled this season, and when asked if 2019 has been the worst stretch of his career, emotionally. Dalton had this to say.
“It definitely has. This is what pulls at you,” he said. “When things aren’t going how you had them envisioned, it shows the true character of me and the guys on this team. It’s been good to see everybody sticking together. In tough times, your true character is going to show.”
While many did not expect the Bengals to be a formidable team in 2019, it is surprising that they have not won a game after seven weeks. At this point, all the Bengals can do is play out the season and let the chips fall where they may.
It finally happened! The Jacksonville Jaguars finally traded fourth-year CB Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 2020 first-round draft selection, a 2021 first-round draft selection, and a 2021 fourth-round draft selection.
Ramsey, who requested a trade from Jacksonville, had missed the past three games with a back injury.
On Wednesday, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone discussed the trade of Ramsey.
(On how relieving it is to have the Jalen Ramsey trade situation over)
“I never really looked at it that way. I looked at it as obviously I had a good relationship with him and we were working together to get him healthy and get him on the field, and that’s where my focus was, so he can get on the field and help us win football games. Now I’m concentrated on the players that are here and getting our guys focused on Cincinnati.”
(On if he respects the way Ramsey handled himself over the past month)
“I respect everyone that’s in that locker room in the way they handle a lot of their things. I think it’s difficult, especially when a player’s injured and doing everything they can to get back, so I have no issues.”
(On if he was surprised that Ramsey was traded yesterday)
“I think in this league nothing ever really surprises me anymore, especially from the business side of things. I found out kind of like everybody else did late last night. [General Manager] Dave [Caldwell] came in and told me.”
(On what is preventing other players from exaggerating an injury with the purpose of refusing to play)
“I think we have to be careful when we say that this is a blueprint with the injury and wanting to move, because obviously he did have an injury. So, I don’t even want to go there. How to stop anyone else from doing it? I can’t answer that question, I really can’t.”
(On what he believes went wrong with Ramsey)
“Well I was doing everything I can. We were talking every day. We talked last night afterwards, so I can’t speak for that. I was trying, busting my butt, to get him healthy and get him out there. That’s a great question for him. I think he’s the only one that’s going to be able to answer that.”
(On how he addressed the trade with the team today)
“I said, ‘We made the trade last night and that [we] appreciate what Jalen has done for our football team and being part of this football team. And we wish him the best of luck and we have to focus on Cincinnati. We’re going to get a lot of questions today from the media about what’s going on. I’m not telling you guys what to say, I’m just telling you what I’m going to say and I’m going to get my focus back on the team which is my job.’ And that’s exactly what I told them almost word for word.”
(On if a leader of the team had ever said to him that the Ramsey situation was a distraction)
“No. Other things, yes, that’s part of it. We have a committee and there’s things that come up. ‘Hey coach, what do you think about this?’ And you work with the players. And I think they’ll tell you that we’ve worked through a lot of things. I think it’s helped this football team. I think it will continue to help this football team. The more communication in anything that you do, the better it’s going to be. I really believe that.”
(On if he feels that what the Jaguars received in the Ramsey trade is a fair resolution of the trade demand)
“My son asked me the same question. I told him, ‘I don’t know the analytics of all that.’ So, like I said, that future stuff, I’m concentrated on now.”
(On if he needs analytics to formulate an opinion on the Ramsey trade)
“I’m sure five years from now, 10 years from now, someone will be able to write about it. It’s not my job to do that. And again, I know you guys are probably frustrated, but you’re talking to a guy that has a big job to get the players ready. That we’re discussing something that has nothing to do with where my mind is right now, honestly, and I respect the hell out of you guys, you know that. I just wish I can give you the insight and the answers that that question needs to be answered. I don’t have that. And I wish we could get someone up here that can answer it, I do, but it’s me. So, I really – you don’t know. You don’t know until down the road.”
(On what the feeling was like with Jalen Ramsey)
“I keep trying to tell everyone, we had a very good relationship. I told him the same thing – I appreciate what you have done, I wish you the best and I’ll see you in the summer. I see him in the summer. We are right down the road from each other [in Tennessee]. I wish him the best. I really do.”
(On why Jalen Ramsey didn’t play Sunday)
“Everything is, like I said before, a collaborative effort. Doctors, trainers, players, for all injured players. We are working out and we are progressing, and it got to a point where [his back] wasn’t where we would be able to put him out there and be able to perform. That’s exactly what happened. No different than a lot of the other guys that [have injuries] happen, nothing unusual of how that goes.”
(On if he spends any time looking back and trying to figure out where things went wrong with Jalen Ramsey or second-guessing how the franchise approached his situation)
“I don’t have the time honestly. I am always disappointed in myself first that I couldn’t do a better job. That is just how I am wired. I am not a martyr or anything like that. My job is the coaches, myself, getting the team ready. How the franchise [does things] … that’s above me. I don’t have the time to think about that.”
(On if the Jalen Ramsey situation made his job harder)
“I don’t see it harder or easier. I think being a head coach in the NFL is always hard. I don’t think that ever changes. I think it’s a privilege. It’s an honor. It’s one that I don’t take lightly, so I put a lot of effort into doing the best job I can and being the best leader I can. That is what I’m trying to do. I don’t look at outside forces creating things for me. I think sometimes you have some tough luck. I think last year with the injuries, that was kind of tough. That’s the only thing that I really look at that makes it tough, when you have a lot of injuries and you can’t go out there full strength.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded fourth-year CB Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 2020 first-round draft selection, a 2021 first-round draft selection and a 2021 fourth-round draft selection.
The Jaguars now have 18 picks, including four first-round selections, over the next two drafts.
In 2020, the Jaguars currently hold nine selections (Jacksonville’s first-round pick, Los Angeles Rams’ first-round pick, Jacksonville’s second-round pick, Jacksonville’s third-round pick, Jacksonville’s fourth-round pick, Los Angeles Rams’ fifth-round pick, Jacksonville’s sixth-round pick, Seattle’s sixth-round pick and Jacksonville’s seventh-round pick).
In 2021, the Jaguars currently hold nine selections (Jacksonville’s first-round pick, Los Angeles Rams’ first-round pick, Jacksonville’s second-round pick, Jacksonville’s third-round pick, Jacksonville’s fourth-round pick, Los Angeles Rams’ fourth-round pick, Jacksonville’s fifth-round pick, Jacksonville’s sixth-round pick, and Jacksonville’s seventh-round pick).
In 2022, the Jaguars currently hold their original seven selections.
When Jaguars QB Nick Foles went out with a collarbone injury in Week 1 against the Chiefs, many thought Jacksonville’s chances of making a playoff run were over. No way anyone thought a sixth-round pick could save the season. Well, after five weeks, that sixth-round pick, Gardner Minshew, is doing just that.
Minshew has done his best to keep the Jaguars’ season alive. He is 2-2 as a starter, and the Jaguars(2-3) are only one game out of first place in the AFC South, and at this point, if Minshew continues to play well, he might continue as the starter when Foles returns.
According to Jaguars offensive coordinator John Defilippo, Minshew is playing well because of what he is doing away from the field.
“I think it’s as much off the field as it is on the field,” Defilippo said on Thursday. “I think he trusts his preparation. I think anytime you go through game week after game week after game week; I think you get into a routine. I see him much more comfortable in his routine throughout the week.
“On the field, I just think it has more to do with the ten guys that are around him than it does him. I just think you see the other 10 guys believe. It was kind of an unknown for all of us when he went in there against Kansas City when Nick went down on play [No. 11]. I think you see an organization, not only players and coaches, but I think that you see an organization believe that he’s going to go out there and perform. That is a credit to him.”
It’s very evident that the Jaguars do believe in Minshew, and while Jacksonville has invested a lot of money into Foles, Minshew may have shown enough for the team to think about moving on from Foles. However, that decision won’t be made anytime soon, but for now, the team continues to get behind Minshew.
