How living in a former prison bus gave Gardner Minshew perspective on backup QB role with Eagles
dressing like Uncle Rico, the fictional character from the movie “Napoleon Dynamite,” as he did while arriving at the Eagles’ game last season against the Detroit Lions.
And you just might find Minshew living out of an old prison bus, as he did during the offseason. Minshew parked the bus next to a gym in Bonita Springs, Florida, where he spent most of the offseason working out. As ESPN detailed, Minshew decorated the bus with an orange couch, shag white throw pillows, 1970s-style flowery bed covers, and album covers from the ’70s hanging on the wall.
Minshew put the bus up for sale when he arrived at the Eagles’ complex for training camp last month.
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It’s still Hurts’ job. Nothing that happened Sunday will change that. And Minshew knows it.
“All I want to do is get better, man,” Minshew told reporters Sunday when asked about being a backup. “In my mind, I’ve proved to myself that I can play in this league. That’s all that matters. I know that if I continue to get better, then I have a chance to have a really good career in this league.”
It will probably have to be with another team. Make no mistake, Minshew could start for a number of teams, albeit not very good ones.
But the Eagles aren’t likely to trade Minshew before this season. It’s a long 17-game season and players get hurt. Last season, only 13 of the 32 teams had their quarterback play in every game.
The Eagles saw this firsthand on Aug. 12 against the Jets when Hurts was hit late out of bounds. The Eagles, no doubt, held their collective breath, but Hurts popped right up and finished the drive.
If the Eagles trade Minshew, then Reid Sinnett and Carson Strong would be Hurts’ backups. Neither has ever taken a snap in an NFL game.
Minshew started two games last season − the other was the meaningless finale against Dallas because the Eagles had already clinched a playoff spot. He also started 20 games in two seasons with Jacksonville after the Jags drafted him in the sixth round in 2019.