The Jacksonville Jaguars, who played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, invested a lot into free agent quarterback Nick Foles this offseason. After getting hurt in the first week of the season, it was rookie Gardner Minshew that stole the show.
However, when Foles was healthy, he returned to the starting spot.
In Week 13, going up against the Buccaneers, it looks like that was questioned. The Jaguars were losing 25-0 at the half, and Foles was 7-for-14 for 93 yards and one interception, as well as two fumbles.
That combination of terrible play and a terrible deficit led to the quarterback being benched in favor of Minshew for the second half. The rookie played better, but the Jaguars still lost 28-11.
After the game, Foles spoke out on his benching and the team's ugly loss to Tampa Bay.
At least Jaguars QB Nick Foles didn't mention culture after the loss: “This is not an easy game. A tough situation. … It’s a trial and the trials keep coming. Its not easy, but I know where my heart is and where my faith is and what I’m going to lean on in this time.
— Mark Long (@APMarkLong) December 1, 2019
Obviously Foles does not know much more than us. Yes, he played bad and was benched. The team lost and is now 4-8 on the year.
Will Foles be back in the starting lineup next week though? Jacksonville is likely out of the playoffs at this point. So the questions will start to be asked.
Especially considering they are 0-4 with Foles as the starter and 4-4 with Minshew in that role.
Do the Jaguars bench Foles for the rest of the year and see how the rookie responds? Or do they feel like that is admitting defeat and makes that massive offseason signing look that much worse? If that's the case, maybe they refuse to swallow their pride.
There is merit to starting Foles though. If the team feels he is still the long-term answer, they'll want him to get more time with the starters this year. Since he was hurt, Foles hasn't played all that much this season. Getting him extra reps now so he's more familiar with everyone moving forward could be very important.
Whatever way the Jaguars go, they will have fans and analysts both with, and against them. For now though, we don't even know what that direction is.
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