JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Everyone knows who the Jaguars quarterback will be this season. But in mid-June? It’s an open competition.
Wink, wink.
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Trevor Lawrence is thought to be such a generational quarterback prospect that it was probably well worth losing 15 games and posting the worst record in franchise history.
There’s no way the Jaguars won’t start Lawrence this year, right?
Not so fast, said passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.
The starter, the backup, the backup’s backup, none of those positions have been finalized, he said Wednesday. The goal has been to see what every player is capable of, build the quarterback room and allow that to determine the depth chart. It’s assumed that Lawrence is the starter, with Gardner Minshew, Jake Luton or CJ Beathard as his backup. But Schottenheimer said no such order has been determined.
“Well, again I don’t agree 100% [about the depth chart]. We certainly haven’t named a starter,” Schottenheimer said about the quarterback pecking order. “Our objective from day one was to build the best quarterback room that we could. We knew what we had in Gardner, C.J. was a guy that we really looked at on film and we saw him make a lot of plays and have some of the athleticism that we really like from our quarterbacks. Jake Luton was a guy that was highly sought-after last year.”
Minshew is the only player on the roster who has won a game for the Jaguars. He’s won seven games in his Jacksonville career. Jake Luton was erratic as a rookie last season. And free agent signee CJ Beathard is likely in the mix for a backup spot.
“We’re not in a position where we’re saying 1, 2, 3, 4. We’re letting them all roll, everybody is getting reps, we want this thing to be really competitive. Ultimately, when we name a starter, we’ll name a starter,” Schottenheimer said. “Urban will do that when he’s ready, but I’ve just enjoyed watching these guys compete.”