Why Gardner Minshew might be the most interesting QB in the NFL

Jaguars rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew has become somewhat of a cult figure in the NFL after just one career start.

Minshew, 23, made his first his appearance in Week 1 after taking over for an injured Nick Foles. Once it was discovered Foles would miss most of the season with a fractured collarbone, all eyes went to Minshew and his incredible mustache. Minshew wowed many by completing 22 of 25 passes in Week 1, but his off-field storylines are what caused people to fall in love with him.

So let’s go over some reasons why people like him so much.

MORE: Five things to know about Gardner Minshew

He once tried to break his own hand with a hammer

His name is actually Gardner Minshew II with no original Gardner Minshew

Minshew’s father is named Flint. There is no original Gardner Minshew, but if you look on the Jaguars’ official website, they list their new starting quarterback’s full name as Gardner Minshew II.

This seems like an odd loophole in the naming system. How is this even possible? How far down the line can you create a false narrative? Could the Minshew family have named him Gardner Minshew V? If Minshew wanted to have a child and name it Gardner, does it revert back to the original, or is the child now Gardner Minshew III?

I have questions.

UPDATE: The Ringer was able to get to the bottom of the namesake. Turns out Minshew’s dad’s name actually is Gardner, he just goes by his middle name Flint (side note, the Jaguars’ quarterback’s middle name is also Flint). And if you’re wondering why he’s Gardner Minshew II and not Gardner Minshew Jr., well, we’ll let the original Gardner Minshew explain.

Via The Lewiston Tribune:

So now you know way too much information behind Gardner Minshew II’s name.

He was almost named Beowulf instead

In a profile of the Minshew family, The Spokesman Review talked with Minshew’s grandfather, who apparently wanted Gardner to be named Beowulf.

From the Spokesman:

We were so close to having an NFL QB named Beowulf.

He apparently just catches big fish with his bare hands

I have nothing else to add.

He strips down and does exercise bands

In a profile for The Athletic, we found out Minshew likes to exercise naked. Although the quarterback was quick to point out most times he does it in just a jockstrap, before admitting that there have been a few occasions when he is without any clothing.

And while the profile in The Atheltic was written last year when Minshew was in college, the habit has followed him to the NFL.

He was caught working out in a jockstrap before his first start in Week 2.

Remarkable.

He’s also really smart

A leak of the Wonderlic scores for the 2019 NFL Draft class shows Minshew scored a 42. There are 50 potential questions, although with time restrictions, it’d be unfair to say Minshew scored 42/50 on the test. Still, 42 is a really impressive number.

He was even asked about it after the Jaguars acquired Josh Dobbs, who majored in aerospace engineering. And although this is a story about Minshew, I’d like to point out Dobbs memorized the first 45 numbers in pi. Minshew admits he’s not quite on the same level as Dobbs.

He’s fine sleeping on a used $10 mattress

More tidbits from The Athletic profile.

He shows no mercy

Here’s Minshew just backhanding a blocked shot from a child at the Boys and Girls Club.

He has his own tribute song

He’s also a good quarterback

Despite all of the odd storylines surrounding Minshew, some of which sound like the start of a Chuck Norris joke, above all else, he’s good at what he does. He set all sorts of passing records at Washington State, and even finished in fifth place in the Heisman vote in his final season. He owns the Pac-12 single-season record for most passing yards (4,776), beating the mark previously held by Jared Goff.

And so far as an NFL quarterback, he’s looked really good. He came in off the bench in Week 1 and won the Rookie of the Week award. He led a comeback drive in Week 2, which would have tied the game, but for some reason Jacksonville decided to go for a two-point conversion and didn’t convert.

Minshew will continue to start for Jacksonville, and maybe we’ll find out some other stories about him in the mean time.

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