It's nearing the witching hour for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who'll need to soon make a decision at the quarterback position. The team lost newly-acquired Nick Foles in the opener with a fractured collarbone, immediately landing him on injured reserve for the first half of the season and more.

There are obvious questions on if Foles will get the starting job back once healthy, considering rookie sixth-round pick Gardner Minshew has now thrown for 1,697 yards and 10 touchdowns to only two interceptions in seven games played, but the world will soon find out what the Jaguars intend to do. Foles is now eligible to return to practice from his injury, and will participate for the first time this week as Jacksonville readies to visit the New York Jets, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

It'll only be in a limited capacity, but it's definitive progress, and puts him on track to be activated from IR after the Week 10 bye, when they'll face the Indianapolis Colts to start the final regular season push.

Things will get interesting at that point if Minshew continues to play well and the Jaguars string together wins in their next two games, which includes squaring off against the dangerous Houston Texans after this week's matchup against the New York Jets, because the "hot hand" principle begins to creep into the conversation. That, of course, would be met with the reality Foles was signed this year to a four-year, $88 million deal with more than $50 million guaranteed -- making it difficult to fathom him a backup role. 

Plus, he's also a former Super Bowl MVP, with priceless playoff experience Minshew lacks.

When Foles went down in the season opener against the Chiefs, though, Minshew stepped in and took the league by storm. From mustache marketing by the Jaguars to the gutsy wins he's mustered this season, Minshew Mania has been at full throttle for weeks now. A career-best 374-yard, two touchdown -- with no interceptions -- game against the Carolina Panthers put his talents on full display, but the Jaguars as a team have cooled as of late, losing that contest as well as the following clash against the New Orleans Saints before stopping the slide with a win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.

Still within reach of first place in the AFC South, and hoping for a wild card berth -- at minimum -- the decision at QB is one the Jaguars can't afford to fumble.