Trevor Lawrence, Gardner Minshew to both play vs. Browns, locked in supposed QB competition

The Jaguars want the world to believe there's no QB decision yet

If you keep saying something long enough, you might begin believing it yourself -- be it true or not. Such is the case with the Jacksonville Jaguars and their quarterback situation, with head coach Urban Meyer refusing to admit the obvious -- that No. 1-overall pick Trevor Lawrence is the starter going into the 2021 season -- and doubling down on how Lawrence is supposedly locked in a QB competition with backup Gardner Minshew. It's a hill Meyer stood on heading into training camp and despite having now seen Lawrence do work in practice, Meyer isn't budging, at least publicly.

On Thursday, he continued to hammer at the point, and used it as a segue to announce both Lawrence and Minshew will play in the Jaguars preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. And to further his point, Meyer stopped short of naming the starter for Saturday's game.

"He's earned my respect. I love that guy," Meyer said of Minshew, via NFL.com. "He's a warrior, competitor. He's a fighter. I told him that. I just got great respect for Minshew. He brings it every day, every day."

So the prevailing question in North Texas is now crystal-clear: does Meyer actually believe what he's saying, or is he simply trying to up Minshew's trade value?

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In reality, it has to be the latter, or at least that's what logic dictates. For if Minshew was seen as the future of the franchise, he wouldn't have struggled to remain on the field in direct competition with a now-traded Nick Foles -- most of the "Minshew Magic" era having now come and gone in Jacksonville. Additionally, the franchise would've at least entertained trading out of the top seat in the 2021 NFL Draft for what would've undoubtedly been a king's ransom in return, but they never once considered it. As a matter of fact, Meyer more or less admitted they would be selecting Lawrence nearly a month ahead of the draft.

To have that kind of certainty in a QB prospect means there's an equal or greater amount of uncertainty with the incumbent player trying to hold down the same position, so don't go buying what Meyer is selling. Lawrence was brought in to be the savior for the Jaguars and it would be a stunning development if he weren't the starter in Week 1. But, until then, Meyer will use the fact Lawrence was probably going to get preseason work anyway -- to ramp him up for his first-ever NFL season -- for reasons only truly known to the man selling the magic beans.

"Is there really a chance [Lawrence doesn't start in Week 1]?," pondered Meyer openly. "I think we'll answer that as we get closer."

It's Meyer's first year as an NFL coach on any level, let alone atop the totem. He can either get off on the left foot or the right foot, and one of them is standing on a land mine.