The Jaguars earned the No. 1 overall pick by having a roster that systematically had disintegrated since an appearance in the AFC Championship in 2017. Even before losing first-round running back Travis Etienne for the season, the Jaguars didn’t have much talent.
That reality sparked a discussion on PFT Live regarding the supposed quarterback competition between Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew. Initially, I thought it was an effort to showcase Minshew for a potential trade. Simms suggested that coach Urban Meyer possibly realizes that his NFL team simply isn’t good enough to compete this year, and that it makes more sense to keep Lawrence out of harm’s way until 2022.
Last year, for example, the Bengals were grossly overmatched. But they pushed ahead with Joe Burrow, who eventually suffered a serious knee injury behind an overmatched offensive line.
It’s possible Meyer would rather hold Lawerence until Meyer believes Lawrence can protect himself. Last night’s ill-advised run-and-tumble may not do much to make Meyer feel more comfortable about throwing Lawrence to the wolves.
So that’s possibly why there’s a quarterback competition. Maybe it’s not about competition. Maybe it’s about protection, until there’s enough help around Lawrence.
If there’s anything to that, Meyer may be thinking even more seriously about that approach now, given that Etienne is out for the year due to an injury suffered in a meaningless game.
