Nothing new, really, on the Jacksonville Jaguars news front — just another sign they want their tank job and epic losing streak to persist, which is why they’ll start Mike Glennon at quarterback in Week 12 versus the Cleveland Browns.
If you’re a relatively new NFL fan, you may be wondering, “Who is Mike Glennon?” and no one could really blame you. He’s not going to be the answer to any prominent sports Jeopardy prompt any time soon, or ever.
Jaguars news: Mike Glennon to start over Gardner Minshew, Jake Luton
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN insider Adam Schefter are both reporting that Jacksonville coach Doug Marrone will turn to Mike Glennon under center for this Sunday’s home game against Cleveland. Apparently, Marrone has no interest in protecting his job, and grew tired of starting a rookie sixth-round pick in Luton who hails from the powerhouse program that is Oregon State football.
That whole Gardner Minshew phenomenon from last year? Minshew Mania? Yep, no longer a thing. Minshew is allegedly still nursing an injured thumb, but let’s call this out for what it is: the Jaguars are purposely tanking. The players on the current roster may not feel that way, and are competing as hard as they can amid adverse circumstances. Nevertheless, that’s what’s happening.
Mike Glennon stats and epic NFL backstory
After beginning his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Glennon got booted out of town as the franchise put all their stock in No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston. From there, the signal-caller inexplicably scored a three-year, $45 million contract with the Chicago Bears.
Glennon failed to beat out *checks notes* a rookie Mitchell Trubisky in the Windy City, and his career has flat lined ever since, consisting of mop-up duty for Arizona and the Raiders in recent years. He was even released this September by the Jags after being signed in March, only to join the practice squad thereafter.
Here are Glennon’s unspectacular NFL stats: a 6-16 record as a starter, 60.9% completion rate, 6.4 yards per attempt, 36 touchdowns to 20 interceptions and an 84.3 passer rating. At least he’s less prone to turnovers, which will be a breath of fresh air for the Jags after they saw Luton throw four interceptions in Week 11’s 27-3 loss to Pittsburgh.
Wait, so is this 1-9 Jacksonville team suddenly trying to win? Not really. Glennon displays enough competence so as not to make it appear as if the organization is torpedoing this season for a higher first-round draft pick, but he isn’t good enough to elevate the players around him and actually win games.
Jaguars news: Staying the course for 2020 tank-a-palooza
This calendar year in general has been rough for just about everyone, but even more so for those who are Jaguars fans. Since a surprise Week 1 win versus Indianapolis, all Jacksonville has done is lose. Not having Minshew at quarterback is no doubt a part of that, yet even if he were on the gridiron, that’s not the franchise’s endgame at the most important position.
Any combination of Glennon and Luton the rest of the way essentially guarantees Jacksonville will have no worse than the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. It’s an absolutely stacked quarterback class, with as many as four who could be selected in the top 10, per our latest mock draft.
Related: NFL mock draft 2023 – CJ Stroud, Bryce Young headline outstanding 2023 NFL Draft class
Minshew fell into the franchise’s lap in the sixth round of the 2019 draft and has exceeded all expectations. For some reason, general manager Dave Caldwell, past selector of Blake Bortles at third overall, thought going back to that well with Luton could actually help build a viable depth chart. Lightning doesn’t strike twice, apparently, so he resorted to, um, acquiring Glennon.
We currently have Ohio State’s Justin Fields going to the Jags this coming year. He’d provide a dynamic, dual-threat playmaker who could instantly lift the fanbase’s spirits after multiple seasons of turmoil and losing. The good news for Jacksonville is Caldwell probably won’t be making that no-brainer pick, and Marrone won’t be in charge of the locker room as Fields, or whoever the future face of the franchise is, tries to turn around the losing culture for DUVAL nation.