Jacksonville Jaguars to start Gardner Minshew over Nick Foles for rest of season

Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars will start rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew for the remainder of the season, sending former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles to the bench.

Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone told reporters Monday that Foles will remain on the bench for the final month of the regular season because of the team's recent performance and his lack of mobility.

"Obviously, it was a tough deal," Marrone said. "Nick coming back from injury and us not being able to do a good enough job around him, really. So we feel with Gardner's mobility and elusiveness, it can give us a better chance of winning with the way we're playing right now because we're all not doing a good enough job."

Minshew replaced Foles in the third quarter of Sunday's 28-11 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Foles, who recently returned from a broken collarbone that he sustained in the regular-season opener, struggled in the first half, turning the ball over on the team's first three possessions.

Foles finished the game with 93 yards on 7-of-14 passing and had three turnovers (one interception, two fumbles). In the second half, Minshew threw for 147 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled in the fourth quarter and tossed an interception when a pass bounced off receiver Dede Westbrook's hands in the end zone.

Marrone said Foles handled the quarterback change well, saying that he considers Foles "a really good quarterback."

"It's brutal. It's tough," Marrone said. "He's a competitor. He's worked his [expletive] off to come back and he's a great pro, so he's going to do everything he can to help us win. At the same time, he's got to be ready in case there's an injury or whatever it may be. He'll be a pro about this.

"I think the world of him. I think he's a really good quarterback. He obviously can win in this league, but we've got to be able to have some help around him."

The Jaguars (4-8) clinched their 11th non-winning season in the last 12 years following Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers. Jacksonville will host the Los Angeles Chargers (4-8) on Dec. 8.