Report: Jaguars' Gardner Minshew Has Fractures and Strained Ligament In Thumb

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II has suffered multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb, x-rays recently revealed. The passer has reportedly had the injuries for a few weeks now.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew II has multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb according to reports from ESPN's Adam Schefter.

As Schefter reported, X-rays during this week revealed that Minshew has multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb. Per Schefter, Minshew has had discomfort in his thumb since Oct. 11 at Houston but Jaguars didn’t know about Minshew’s injury until this week.

X-rays during this week revealed that Jaguars’ QB Gardner Minshew II has multiple fractures and a strained ligament in his right thumb, sources told ESPN.

Minshew has had discomfort in his thumb since Oct. 11 at Houston. Jaguars didn’t know about Minshew’s injury until this week

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 29, 2020

The Jaguars lost to the Houston Texans 30-14 in Week 5, with Minshew going 31-of-49 for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

The following week, in a loss to the Detroit Lions, Minshew went 25-of-44 for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception. On Sunday versus the Los Angeles Chargers, the second-year passer completed 14-of-27 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

Minshew is right-handed and therefore fractures and a strained ligament would make gripping the ball for a pass painful.

Up to this point, the Jaguars passer has a better completion percentage (65.9%) than he did in his rookie 2019 season, and a better touchdown-interception ratio (13-5, 2.6%). Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden told reporters last week that he doesn’t expect perfection from Minshew, just marked improvement.

“There’s a lot on a quarterback’s plate and he’s a young player and he’s continuing to learn and grasp it, but we don’t expect perfection right now. We’re going to have some growing pains here and there. That’s our job to try to protect him and put him in the best situation as possible.”

Reports from NFL Network surfaced before the Chargers game that if Minshew played poorly, he could be benched for veteran and back-up quarterback Mike Glennon. After the game, Minshew told reporters that he had not had a conversation pertaining to a benching with the coaches, while head coach Doug Marrone also said he wasn't thinking about benching Minshew vs. the Chargers.

Through seven games Minshew has completed 65.9% of his passes for 1,855 yards (6.9 yards per attempt) with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Jacksonville's other quarterbacks on ther roster are Glennon and sixth-round rookie Jake Luton.

Jacksonville has the benefit of a bye this weekend. They will return to the field on Nov. 8 for their second matchup of the season against the Houston Texans, a game the Jaguars will host.