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:
For those wondering about the finances of a potential 49ers’ Gardner Minshew acquisition, he has 2 years left on a 6th-round rookie deal. That’d mean salary-cap hits of:
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 24, 2021
2021: $850k
2022: $965k
Way cheaper than Darnold ($4.8m), and Minshew has been better than Darnold so far
$2.5m AAV for Beathard. I think the 49ers would definitely prefer Gardner Minshew at the price of $850k + a mid-round draft pick over that. But enough of the rumors for now, let's see what Shanahan is actually thinking https://t.co/IJrOg2rsME
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 24, 2021
Most analysts believe the Jets will replace Darnold on the opening night of the upcoming draft.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!