Gardner Minshew II gets a potentially extended chance to prove his chops as a starter
Four years ago, Gardner Minshew II became thrust into the NFL consciousness when Jaguars starter Nick Foles broke a collarbone in Week 1 against the Chiefs. Minshew would start 12 games that year, with the Jaguars winning six of them.
It was enough to win the starting job entering 2020. But it didn't go well. Injuries limited him to eight starts, and the Jaguars bottomed out at 1-15.
In came Trevor Lawrence (and Urban Meyer), and out went Minshew for a mere sixth-round pick to the Eagles, after a clumsily-contrived quarterback competition. He started a pair of games in 2021 and 2022 in Philly. And when Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen became the head coach of the Colts, he came calling for Minshew.
As the backup to rookie Anthony Richardson, Minshew has played well, so far. He entered the Week 2 game against the Texans after Richardson suffered a concussion. Minshew helped lead the Colts to a win. He started the Week 3 game at Baltimore. He helped lead the Colts to an upset. Then, on Sunday, Minshew engineered a victory over the Titans after Richardson suffered a shoulder injury.
This year, Minshew has completed 57 of 83 passes (68.67 percent) for 553 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 95.1.
Richardson is now out, possibly for several weeks. Minshew becomes the man. The Colts love him. The players love him. He's a great teammate. And he gets a chance to show that, when the free-agency wheel spins in March, maybe he'll get a chance to be a starter, somewhere.
If nothing else, he can play the role (again) of stop-gap in the event the team that signs him doesn't get the quarterback it wants in the draft. If the Vikings, for example, are eyeing one of the incoming rookies at the position, why not have Minshew as the insurance policy against taking a guy they don't really want if the guy they covet can't be gotten?
Minshew was a bargain this year for the Colts. One year, $3.5 million. He's still only 27. He's got plenty of years left in his football career. He could have a second act like Geno Smith, in time.
What happens over the next few weeks will go a long way toward determining whether that time will be sooner than later.
The first opportunity comes this weekend, when Minshew goes back to Jacksonville. They still love him there. They might not love him as much after Sunday.
