Nick Foles to remain Jaguars starting quarterback for now

The Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7) have been stuck in a position of mediocrity at the quarterback position for years, and that much is not changing anytime soon. On Monday, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone reiterated — as he did last week, and again on Sunday — that Nick Foles will remain the team’s starting quarterback.

“With the quarterback position I look at it as, right now I believe that he (Nick Foles) gives us the best chance to win and I evaluate it like everyone else and I try to treat that position the same,” Marrone said when asked if the quarterback position is treated differently given status and contract situations.

The Jaguars will remain with Foles as the starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. On Sunday, Foles completed 32 out of 48 (66%) of his passes for 272 yards in the team’s 42-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans (6-5). Foles’ numbers were inflated due to the high number of passes demanded after the Jaguars’ terrible third quarter which resulted in 28 unanswered points in the span of nine offensive plays by the Titans.

Credit: NFL

In 48 attempts, Foles threw for an average of 5.66 yards per attempt on Sunday. For reference, Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II had one game this season under 6.45 yards per attempt — against the New Orleans Saints (5.62). The team could not stay on the field converting only seven out of 18 (39%) third downs on the day, and punting the football a total of six out of the first eight possessions of the game. There was next to zero offensive production for much of the game.

“What gets difficult is when you have a player in a position that is inconsistent and you really don’t have any place to go except to coach him better and do things to get it clear, whether it’s cutting things down — or if it’s a point of not having maybe the right players in position then you got to do more to hide your deficiencies and those are the conversations that we had today.”

The Jaguars are currently in a position where the quarterback is not providing enough, however, the coaching staff feels Foles is still the best player for the job. The team will likely attempt to change the way they call plays or attempt to hide the deficiencies Foles has with other shake-ups to put him in the best position to succeed.

While Foles will remain the Jaguars starting quarterback, Marrone did leave the door ever so slightly cracked when asked if there was a different evaluation for a quarterback to lose their job or if they are treated like any other position.

“If the person at that position — or any position is not gonna give us the best chance to win, then I’m gonna make a change at that position,” said Marrone. “I think I’ve done that — I think I’ve held true to that and that’s my call. And I’m not gonna put someone out there that doesn’t give us the best chance to win if I have an opportunity to put someone else in there.”

It is extremely unlikely that Minshew II suits up again for the jaguars this season — barring injury, however, if Foles continues to struggles, or regresses further, it could be a conversation as we approach the very end of the season. For now, Foles remains the Jaguars’ starting quarterback.

“Right now I believe he gives us the best chance to win.”