Getty Former Jaguars starter Gardner Minshew is the new QB2 for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Nick Sirianni has a direct pipeline to the Indianapolis Colts, stemming from his three years there as offensive coordinator. And the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office was able to take advantage of its relationship with Frank Reich to unload Carson Wentz on them.
Now Wentz is in Washington and Indianapolis is once again searching for a quarterback … and Gardner Minshew is a “name to watch,” according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora. The plugged-in reporter mentioned Minshew and Kirk Cousins in the same sentence, but Cousins received a one-year extension from Minnesota so he’s out of that conversation. Minshew, of course, has expressed his desire to be a starter and it doesn’t appear as if he’ll ever get the chance to do it in Philly.
Aaron Rodgers got a monster deal, Russ is headed to Denver, but when is Gardner Minshew taking over as starter somewhere??
Minshew went 1-1 in two starts last season while throwing for 439 yards and 4 touchdowns (one interception). His completion percentage was 68.3 with a 60.6 QBR. He made headlines for a closed-door meeting with Sirianni where he asked what he needed to do to become the starter. He was told that Jalen Hurts was the guy for the foreseeable future.
“We’re all competitive guys, we all want to play,” Minshew said, “And I was just asking what it took and he said ‘we’re solid right now’ and I respect that, and I’m going to do everything I can to put myself in that position at some point.”
✅ Gardner Minshew Wins 1st Eagles Start‼️
💥Minshew 20 of 25, 2 TDs, 0 INT
💥Minshew started 10-10, 2 TDs + PERFECT Rating
💥Eagles: 12-0 vs Jets (MOST wins vs ANY team in NFL history without loss)
💥Dallas Goedert career HIGH 2 TDs & 105 Rec. Yds
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Sirianni Discusses Possible Minshew Trade
Trade rumors around Minshew are nothing new. In fact, the Carolina Panthers tried to get him from Philly at last year’s deadline, but the Eagles decided he was too important. It’s a good thing they kept the veteran quarterback, too, since Hurts ended up missing a crucial December game due to an ankle injury.
“We saw the value of Gardner, right? Jalen was forced to miss the Jets game and Gardner came in and played outstanding football,” Sirianni told Doug Kyed. “And that’s what you want. You want your backup quarterback to be able to come in and win games when you need it.”
I asked #Eagles HC Nick Sirianni if they would entertain the possibility of trading QB Gardner Minshew.
“If I’m around Frank (Reich) for two years in San Diego, three years (in Indy), for five years, if I didn’t learn something about the backup quarterback…”
Sirianni was asked if he would consider trading Minshew at the NFL Scouting Combine and his answer was pure coach speak. While the organization views Minshew as an important piece of the puzzle, no one is immune from a trade if the move helps improve the roster. That being said, Sirianni believes in having a capable backup.
“I value what Gardner is as a football player,” Sirianni said. “He’s a good football player. He could be starting at a lot of different teams around the NFL but I’m sure glad he’s on our team because I think that’s important … the importance of the backup quarterback is very, very important and I’m sure glad that Gardner Minshew is ours.”
Kirk Cousins Gets Paid in Minnesota
The Vikings decided to forego an exhaustive search for a new quarterback and keep Kirk Cousins. The team handed the three-time Pro Bowler a one-year fully guaranteed extension worth $35 million. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Cousins will make $40 million in 2022 and $30 million in 2023.
Vikings gave Kirk Cousins a one-year, fully-guaranteed $35 million extension, per source. He will make $40 million this year and $30 million next. Deal has two voidable years in it to lower his cap number this year to $31.25M. $15M of deal will be paid by this time next year.
Cousins stuffed the stat sheet in 2021, throwing for 4,221 yards and 33 touchdowns against only seven interceptions. However, the Vikings went 8-8 and failed to make the postseason for the second straight year.