Philadelphia Eagles: The market for Gardner Minshew is heating up

The 2021 quarterback market is… interesting.

In free agency, there are close to a dozen quarterbacks with recent starting experience of varying on-field styles who could be had for nothing but cap space. Do you want an intriguing young signal caller who was drafted high but failed to latch on with his initial team? Well, Mitch Trubisky and Marcus Mariota fit that bill. How about a proven vet who can usher along a young draftee? Ryan Fitzpatrick is looking for his 10th team and has filled that role many times over.

Heck, there are even a few “just right” quarterbacks like Teddy Bridgewater and Jacoby Brissett who have led teams to the playoffs as recently as 2019 and could conceivably walk into a solid situation and execute an offense to the sum of its parts.

And as for the draft? Well, it’s a similar situation there too. While there isn’t a slam dunk “Andrew Luck-type” who is a lock to go first overall, there are players like Kenny Pickett, Matt Corral, and Malik Willis who a franchise might fall in love with.

And yet, with a ton of interesting options across the football landscape, there is reportedly going to be a healthy market for a fourth-year former sixth round pick who could be on his third team in as many years this fall.

Don’t be surprised if Gardner Minshew isn’t a member of the Philadelphia Eagles this fall.

When asked – by no one in particular -about how the Indianapolis Colts will address their quarterback position this fall now that Carson Wentz is a Washington Commander, Jason La Canfora let it be known that the franchise has an interest in acquiring Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Gardner Minshew if Kirk Cousins isn’t available.

… okay, a lot of weirdness in that statement, but ultimately, it makes sense.

Excluding the business about trading for Cousins, which is its own can of worms, the thought process of landing Minshew is relatively straightforward; the Colts don’t have a first round pick but have a ton of cap space. If they can secure a quarterback like Minshew, who will only make $2.45 million in 2022, it would leave the team with well over $65 million to address the rest of their roster and really supercharge their talent pool in the lead up to a Super Bowl run.

Worst case scenario? The Colts regress from their 2021 form and have to address the quarterback position with another player in 2023 either through the draft or free agency but hey, if Minshew shows up and shows out, serving as an accurate game manager in Frank Reich’s offense, it provides the team with a solid QB1 moving forward with an additional year of experience in their system.

Even if Minshew never tops out as better than a top-20 quarterback, many a team has won a Super Bowl with such a QB at the controls of their offense, especially ones with elite rushing games.

Outside of Indianapolis, there have been a few other teams linked to Minshew in a more casual way, with franchises like the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers being tabbed “teams to watch” when it comes to a trade for the “Mustached One.” Both teams will enter the 2022 NFL calendar year without their long-time quarterback and could view Minshew in the same light as La Canfora reports the Colts do.

Will the Philadelphia Eagles ultimately opt to trade Gardner Minshew before the 2022 NFL Draft? Yes, they probably will; Jalen Hurts has been tabbed as the guy internally, and having a second rookie-scale contract quarterback as his backup provides less value than a veteran quarterback with three, four, or even five times as much NFL experience. If the right offer comes along, or Howie Roseman can gin up enough interested parties to create a bidding war, securing a draft pick, especially one in 2023 with playtime-triggered incentives, for a player who will walk next spring for nothing is a good idea.