For a brief, fleeting moment last November, Chad Henne arguably looked like the top quarterback in the AFC South.
Looking calm and poised, Henne passed for four touchdowns and 354 yards as the Jacksonville Jaguars nearly upset the then 8-1 Texans on the road in a 43-37 overtime defeat. It was easily Henne’s best performance in an otherwise pedestrian season. Despite the struggles, Henne believes he’s should be given a shot at the Jaguars’ starting quarterback position in 2013. Jaguars’ first-year coach Gus Bradley has declared an open competition for the starting job.
"Sure, this is a great opportunity," Henne told the Florida Times-Union. “You've seen all the moves with quarterbacks going all over the league and this is one of those opportunities. There's a starting job open and let the best man win. I'm just going to give it my all.”
In Henne’s first season with the Jaguars, he finished with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 53.9 percent of his passing attempts. Henne’s numbers were comparable with Blaine Gabbert, the Jaguars’ opening-week starting quarterback in 2012. Gabbert had nine touchdowns, six interceptions and a 77.4 quarterback rating on the season when he was placed on IR in November with a shoulder injury. Henne ended the season with a 72.2 rating.
The Jaguars may opt to draft a quarterback with an early-round pick in the NFL Draft. This week, Bradley revealed that he has met privately with Geno Smith of West Virginia, Matt Barkley of USC, EJ Manuel of Florida State, Mike Glennon of N.C. State and Ryan Nassib of Syracuse.
“It was good for me to visit with them," Bradley told the Times-Union. "I was really intrigued by how these guys compete. It intrigues me to have a chance to sit down with these quarterbacks and go through that. I think it was really good to find some things out."
The quarterback that wins the job could have more options at receiver than the Jaguars had last season. On Friday, the Jaguars agreed to terms on a two-year deal with former Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. In four seasons with the Browns, Massaquoi caught 118 passes for 1,745 yards and seven touchdowns.
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