Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Could Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew head to 49ers?

One-time NFL darling Gardner Minshew has seemingly played his last meaningful down as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Barring a shocking development, Jacksonville will select Clemson Tigers star Trevor Lawrence with the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft on April 29. The Jaguars also recently welcomed former San Francisco 49ers signal-caller C.J. Beathard for a tryout before signing him to a two-year, $5 million deal with incentives. 

Last Friday, Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer said that the club wasn't shopping Minshew "at this point," but that was before the team added Beathard to the quarterback room. Earlier on Wednesday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler linked Minshew with the 49ers, a further indication that a transaction is either already in the works or inevitable. 

As The Athletic's David Lombardi explained, San Francisco could, theoretically, afford to keep Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster for at least one more season and also add Minshew to the depth chart. It's likely, if not a guarantee, Minshew would cost less in a trade than New York Jets quarterback and 2018 first-round pick Sam Darnold: 

Most analysts believe the Jets will replace Darnold on the opening night of the upcoming draft. 

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