Philadelphia Eagles: Gardner Minshew lands on Chris Simms’ Top QBs list

In 2021, Chris Simms notably left Jalen Hurts off of his Top-40 QBs list, with spots going to players like Sam Darnold, Trey Lance, and Minnesota Vikings third-round pick Kellen Mond over the presumed Philadelphia Eagles‘ starting quarterback.

Needless to say, Simms heard about this particular oversight early and often and eventually admitted to his mistake just in time to watch Hurts’ Eagles take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs… which didn’t exactly go well, but hey, that’s neither here nor there.

Sidebar: What, you may ask, was the most memorable thing about Mond’s rookie season? That would be this infamous quote from Mike Zimmer, which doesn’t exactly paint his young signal-caller in the best light.

So naturally, with the season slowly inching closer and closer with each passing day, the first segment of the 2022 iteration of Chris Simms’ list was released, and needless to say, the spleen-less son of Phil has overcompensated by adding what should be the first of two Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks on the list.

The Philadelphia Eagles apparently have two of the Top-40 QBs in the NFL.

It’s honestly pretty surprising to see Gardner Minshew still on the Philadelphia Eagles’ official roster page.

While he didn’t get too many opportunities to showcase his abilities in 2021, as he appeared in just four games with two starts, the then-third year Washington State product did little to diminish his value across the league and was thus considered a potential trade target for teams looking for a young veteran signal-caller to bolster their quarterbacks room. With no guaranteed franchise quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft, at least according to popular consensus, the idea of adding Minshew for, say, a fourth-round pick seemed like a pretty enticing option for teams like the Seattle Seahawks with needs at the position.

And yet, when the Eagles signed Carson Strong as a UDFA, it wasn’t to serve as Jalen Hurts’ primary backup but instead as QB3, where he will sit behind Minshew too for the foreseeable future.

Could Minshew still somehow end up playing elsewhere this fall? You bet, a single injury to a player like, say, Matt Ryan could immediately open the door to a trade, and from there, Minshew’s future would fall in his own hands once more, but until then, he’ll remain on the bench with a clipboard in hand, knowing that he’s the 37th best player at his position in the NFL… at least according to Chris Simms.

https://twitter.com/SNFonNBC/status/1526659031317762049?s=20&t=VnMpqQkYo191cd1YKbLXTA

That’s right, in the first segment of his Top-40 QBs list of the 2022 season, Simms chose to rank him 37th overall, ahead of Miami backup Teddy Bridgewater, Pittsburgh-turned-Pittsburgh rookie Kenny Pickett, and presumed Seahawks starter Drew Lock at 38, 39, and 40 respectively but behind Tyrod Taylor, who will spend the 2022 season waiting to take the New York Giants’ reins from Daniel Jones.

Is that a bit too low for the former Jacksonville Jaguar? Maybe a little but not by much.

You see, at his best, Minshew is a galvanizing force with a personality bigger than his arm. He’s a dink and dunk specialist who likes to pick up quick yards off of high-percentage passes but would need to operate in a scheme tailor-made for his talents to really excel in any substantive way. While that could eventually happen, as coaches really seem to love the “mustachio’d one,” he’s still a member of the Eagles roster for a reason, as either teams weren’t all that interested in acquiring him this offseason or weren’t willing to give up enough value in return to clear Howie Roseman’s reserve asking price.

Sidebar: Could you imagine if the Eagles traded Minshew for, say, a fourth-round pick and then used that pick on a player like Sam Howell before he could fall to Washington with pick 144? Goodness, that would have been such a Howie Roseman move.

Will Gardner Minshew retire in midnight green? Probably not; while I won’t say never, the chances of that happening are pretty darn slim, to put it mildly. Does Minshew even want to call South Philly home this fall? That answer is probably a no too, as he’d surely rather be a member of a team where he could theoretically win the starting spot this summer. But for now, “Minshew Mania” still lives on in the City of Brotherly Love, and I’m sure the Philadelphia Eagles will enjoy every last minute of the final year of his contract… unless someone comes calling with a deal too good to refuse.