Last month, the Jacksonville Jaguars shockingly traded quarterback Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears after they signed him to a massive four-year deal last offseason.
The veteran quarterback missed the majority of last season due to a collarbone injury. With Foles on the injury list, the Jaguars turned over the starting quarterback reins to rookie Gardner Minshew.
The former Washington State signal-caller started in 12 games, completing 60.6-percent of his passes for 21 touchdowns and six interceptions.
With that type of production and improvement, the Jaguars felt comfortable moving on from Foles. However, running back Leonard Fournette feels differently about the quarterback position for Jacksonville.
On Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s “First Take,” the veteran running back said that he wants the team to sign free-agent and former NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton. Newton was released by the Carolina Panthers on Mar. 24 after spending nearly a decade in Charlotte.
“Cam went to the Super Bowl,” he said (h/t ESPN). “He’s a great guy. I’ve been knowing Cam for a minute now. And like I told some people that talked to me, it’s no disrespect to [Gardner Minshew]. I’m just trying to get in the best position as a team as we can [to] win.”
“That’s all that was about. Just friendly competition ’cause that brings out the best in people.”
Coincidentally, this is not the first time that Fournette has expressed his desire for the Jags to sign the veteran dual-threat quarterback. Last month, the former LSU running back posted a picture of him and Newton, fueling the speculation.
Would certainly be an interesting combo for the #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/LNTUyzgEcj
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) March 26, 2020
During a pre-draft news conference on Thursday, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone explained that Minshew is the team’s starting quarterback, but is open to competition.
“Right now if we went to play, Gardner Minshew’s our guy and I’m excited about that,” he said. “But do I want competition for him? Absolutely. You want competition for everyone, though. I don’t want to make it where I’m answering this question and [people are saying], ‘Marrone’s not as confident [in Minshew].’
It should be interesting to see what the Jags do at the quarterback position either in the NFL Draft or if they decide to sign a veteran like Newton.
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