Gardner Minshew Trade Rumors: Insider Believes Jaguars Would Take 5th-6th-Round Pick

With the Jacksonville Jaguars getting their quarterback of the future in Trevor Lawrence, previous starter Gardner Minshew II could be on his way out.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Minshew "wants a chance to compete for a starting job" and even missed the team's OTAs last week. Fowler spoke to an insider with one team who believes it would take a fifth- or sixth-round pick to acquire the quarterback in a trade.

Fowler also noted the San Francisco 49ers looked into a deal for Minshew but instead decided to trade up in the draft, eventually selecting Trey Lance at No. 3 overall.

Minshew appeared in 23 games over his first two seasons (20 starts), totaling 37 touchdown passes with just 11 interceptions. 

The Jaguars struggled to a 1-7 record during Minshew's starts last season, but he remained efficient with a 95.9 quarterback rating that ranked 16th in the NFL among qualified passers.

The 2019 sixth-round pick has exceeded expectations on the field, beating out Nick Foles for the starting job as a rookie before helping a poor team stay more competitive in 2020. The Jaguars went 0-8 with Mike Glennon and Jake Luton as starters last year.

Jacksonville will look for a fresh start under new head coach Urban Meyer and No. 1 overall pick Lawrence, but Minshew has proved he can succeed at this level.

It might be a difficult time to trade the 25-year-old with limited potential starting opportunities around the league, but the Jaguars could wait until later in the offseason to see if a need arises. With a cap hit of just $897,721 in 2021, per Spotrac, there likely isn't too much urgency to make a move.