Jacksonville Jaguars May Have Choose Between Andy Dalton and Gardner Minshew

When the Cincinnati Bengals let go of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, the rumour mill churned. High in the suitor list is the Jacksonville Jaguars, though they also have alternate options.

If the Jaguars do rope in Dalton, he could reunite with Jaguars offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. Dalton and Gruden spent three seasons together in Cincinnati, and the latter has been an instrumental figure in Dalton’s early success.

Under Gruden, the veteran helped the Bengals to three playoff appearances and a 30-18 regular season record. Andy Dalton rarely dipped below 20 touchdowns and 3,000 yards, and the Bengals won at least nine games in every season.

Andy Dalton may face competition from Gardner Minshew

However, the Jaguars also have a backup plan, in the form of 23-year old Gardner Minshew. Minshew and Dobbs, boast of a total of four NFL seasons between them and a combined 19 game appearances and 12 starts, though Minshew was a more frequent starter.

On the other hand, Dalton played and started 133 games over a nine-year career, and is a veteran. When the Jaguars traded Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears, there has been no experienced head in the quarterback department. However, since the Jaguars traded Foles, they have made it clear that Minshew may become his successor in 2020.

“It was something we felt like we needed to address either through the draft or through bringing a veteran in or possibly both,” general manager Dave Caldwell said.

“We addressed it through the draft tonight. We’ll look at all our situations not at just quarterback, but at every position. Like we said earlier, we’ll just see where we can upgrade. If it makes sense, we’d do it, but we don’t feel like we need to do it at this time.”

A potential Dalton signing would be a big move for the Jaguars. It wouldn’t signal any lack of confidence in Minshew, but would mean that the Jaguars have all of their bases covered.

In any event in which Minshew falters, or becomes injured, the Jaguars season would suffer without a viable option. With Dalton, the Jaguars would be making a low-risk move that would protect them in a number of scenarios. Meanwhile, it would also add a veteran for Minshew to learn from.