[brid autoplay=”true” video=”788116″ player=”23231″ title=”Jacksonville%20Jaguars%203%20Biggest%20Games” duration=”109″ description=”Sportsnaut’s own Matt Fitzgerald breaks down the Jaguars’ 3 biggest games heading into the 2021 NFL season. ” uploaddate=”2021-05-24″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/thumb/788116_t_1621883453.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/sd/788116.mp4″]
The Jacksonville Jaguars conducted a trivial, frivolous and ultimately irrelevant quarterback “competition” between No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew throughout the preseason, but head coach Urban Meyer has at long last made up his mind who’ll start the regular season opener.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Lawrence will get the nod at QB in the Jags’ Week 1 opener against the Houston Texans, per an official team announcement on social media:
No one is going to debate that Minshew is a capable backup, and potentially a fringe starter if he eventually ventures outside of Jacksonville. There’s also the possibility Meyer was putting up a front to drive up Minshew’s trade value.
Whatever the case may be, the Lawrence era is about to get underway in Duval County, and he couldn’t ask for a much easier opponent to build his confidence in the early going. Houston is expected to be the worst team in the NFL, its 2-0 record in the preseason thus far notwithstanding.
Meyer’s collegiate track record of instant success at all his prior stops, along with an overhauled roster and Lawrence’s arrival, have made the Jaguars relevant again. However, a sluggish preseason, particularly on offense, has put Meyer under the microscope.
Between the debacle of signing Tim Tebow and the Jags’ generally uninspiring performance during exhibition contests, Meyer’s tenure in the NFL is off to a rough start.
Then again, Wednesday’s announcement is symbolic of a big step in the right direction for a franchise that desperately needs some good news. It may have taken much longer than expected to get here, but Lawrence is Jacksonville’s QB1.
Click here to see where Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars rank in our NFL power rankings