JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A rookie sixth-round quarterback preparing to make his first NFL start for the Jaguars because of an injury — sound familiar?
Jaguars coach Doug Marrone has a bit of experience with this.
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So, when Jake Luton makes the start for the Jaguars (1-6) on Sunday against the Texans (1-6) at TIAA Bank Field, it’s something that both Marrone and Jaguars fans know all too well about.
Last year, Jacksonville was thrilled to land its franchise quarterback, Nick Foles, in free agency.
We know what happened next.
Foles suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter of the regular season opener against the Chiefs and Minshew Mania was born.
The Jaguars had no choice other than to turn things over to rookie Gardner Minshew in that game and essentially went with Minshew the rest of the way with the exception of three games Foles started — and lost — upon returning from his injury.
On Sunday, Marrone and the Jaguars will get another look at a sixth-round rookie quarterback in Luton, who will start in place of Minshew. In a perfect situation, Foles would have worked out last year and let Minshew develop. In another perfect world, the transition to Minshew this year would have been smooth and not significant growing pains followed by a thumb injury.
And, oh, by the way, all of this in the midst of a pandemic.
COVID-19 erased the NFL preseason and all of the playing time for younger players that come with it. That has made development of younger players a learn-on-the-fly experience, not ideal for coaches.
“The hardest thing I think for all of us, especially that position, is how is that player going to be when really the bullets are flying. Because it’s a unique position, especially now this year without the preseason games where you can kind of see him in the preseason games, where things are going fast and you’ve got have a lot of bodies flying around you,” Marrone said.
“Some guys are calm. You’ve seen them in the league, they’ve been successful, they’re calm, they step up, they can deliver the football, they keep their eyes down the field. Some guys get hit and they get rattled. I mean, we’ve all seen that. So, that’s really what the unknown is.”
Luton was picked 189th overall by the Jaguars after playing in 23 career games at Oregon State. He passed for 5,227 yards and 42 TDs with the Beavers. In camp, Luton drew solid reviews from those in the media and Jaguars coaches.
“That’s the first thing you need,” Marrone said of Luton’s mental sharpness in running the offense.
“You have to be able to communicate well, go in there, call the play, and then get out there and execute. He’s a big guy, he can move, he can see well, and he has a good arm. I might be like most of you guys, I mean you get a lot of questions, but I feel good about putting him in there. I feel good about his potential. I just don’t know how he’s going to be in a game.”