The Jacksonville Jaguars are officially ready to usher in the Gardner Minshew era under center going into the 2020 NFL season. Despite the recent comments from Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette, the locker room is in full support of the new quarterback.
Fournette made it clear how happy he was to be playing alongside a bona fide franchise quarterback in Tom Brady. Wide receiver D.J. Chark has since gone to bat for Minshew, via Ashlyn Sullivan of the team’s website:
Article Continues Below“He now knows when he drops back, the entire locker room wants him to succeed . . . instead of wishing someone else was at QB,” Chark said.
Chark's comments are a positive sign of the newfound confidence under center in Jacksonville. As if it was not already made clear enough by the team's decision to trade quarterback Nick Foles this offseason.
Of course, it would be unfair for most young quarterbacks to be compared to the likes of Brady given his status as the most decorated player in NFL history. Fortunately, there is still good reason to be confident that Minshew is the right man for the job given the brief resurgence he helped lead on offense after taking over during the 2019 campaign.
The former sixth-round pick managed to surpass all expectations after throwing fop 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions while going 6-6 as a starter. The onus will now fall on him to prove that it was no fluke and “Minshew Mania” is something to be enjoyed by Jaguars fans for years to come.