Oddsmakers Favor Minshew To Start Over Foles In 2020

• Gardner Minshew went 6-6 as the starting quarterback for Jaguars in 2019.
• Nick Foles was benched after returning from injury in Week 12.
• Oddsmakers have Minshew winning the position.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars are in offseason mode now and one of their tasks is to decide who will be their starting quarterback. They need to decide between sophomore Gardner Minshew and Super Bowl Champion Nick Foles.

Both Minshew and Foles have been decent quarterbacks, but the Jags will have them compete for the starting position. Minshew, however, did take the league by storm during his rookie season. Many bought into Minshew Mania in the first few weeks of the season and hammered the Jags’ Super Bowl Odds.

But, those bets quickly sunk after the Jags struggled to find consistency from either player starting under center. The odds of Minshew or Foles starting in 2020 is now on the table for sports bettors and fans to debate.

Gardner Minshew

Minshew had an unexpectedly great rookie season for the Jaguars. After all, being drafted in the sixth round, he did not come into the league with much hype surrounding him. If Minshew is the starter moving on, it will put Jacksonville in prime position for the future as they will have a solid, young offensive team.

“Gardner’s an exciting player and people tend to gravitate towards his personality and energy. Nothing against Nick. Nick’s still a great quarterback. They’re two different quarterbacks. Both of them have a lot to work with. Nick has a live arm, a strong arm, great pocket passer, accurate, played in big games, excelled in big games. Gardener has great energy. He has the “escapability” that you need nowadays in pro football because things aren’t always going to be perfect. And he obviously has the leadership skills that are necessary to be at the position. (Smiling) So, let the competition begin…” said Jaguars offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden.

Minshew would also be a cheap option for them until the end of next season. He is set to earn just $632,904 for the upcoming 2020 season and $722,904 for 2021. Not only would he be a cheap option but he would be a productive one as fans saw last season.

“I know I am going to go home, I am going to work really hard—I know Nick is going to go home and work really hard. We are both going to show up and do the best we can for this team. And However that shakes out, it is going to shake out,” said Minshew.

Nick Foles

Foles was a bit of an impulse signing in Jacksonville. After only playing eight games with the Philadelphia Eagles since the 2017 season, in which two of them were playoff games and one was a super bowl victory, the Jags were quick to offer Foles a four year, $88 million.

Yes, a win in the Super Bowl against a powerhouse team like the New England Patriots is impressive, but he did not start one game during the regular season.

Fast forward to the start of the 2019 season, during week one he suffered a broken collar bone that had him sidelined for the first half of the season. When Foles did return, he lasted only 2.5 games before being benched for the rest of the season after throwing two interceptions.

“Nick had an unfortunate injury. He comes in, throws a nice touchdown pass and breaks his collarbone (in week 1 last season). Then he came back and had a couple of rough games and not all his fault. A lot of times when the quarterback struggles, it’s on the quarterback. A lot of times when the quarterback has success, he probably gets too much credit. But Nick didn’t have a lot of opportunities to make some plays in some of these games that he failed in. The Tampa Bay game, he didn’t play his best football. Coach Marrone decided to get a spark and make something happen,” said Gruden.

What was even more surprising about the signing of Foles was that he had served most of his career as a backup. When he did start his numbers were not that great either.

Odds Of Starting

Minshew has an impressive rookie campaign having thrown for 3,271 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. He led the Jaguars to a 6-6 record. He currently sits in front of Foles on the odds list for the starting position at -400 according to SportsLine.

Foles, on the other hand, in just four games, threw for 736 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. As a starter this season Foles couldn’t manage to get a win as he went 0-4. His odds at regaining the starting position for next season are at +300.