Gardner Minshew is ‘fired up’ to be in Philly

Earlier this week the Eagles sent a draft pick down to Jacksonville in a trade for Gardner Minshew, and the quarterback spoke with Philly media for the first time on Wednesday afternoon. Minshew mentioned that he was called into the Jaguars’ GM office, told he was being traded, and later that afternoon was boarding a plane to Philadelphia, so it’s been a bit of a whirlwind.

“I’m fired up to be here. Excited to be working with these guys, and just really looking forward to it.”

When asked about his competitive nature and how he felt about coming in at QB3, Minshew said that he’s here to help the team win, work hard, and do whatever they need. He later mentioned that Jalen Hurts was actually the first guy to reach out and welcome him, and that their paths have crossed a few times the past couple years.

The quarterback said that he likes the little bit he’s learned of the offense and thinks they have the guys to carry the ball well and the way they’ve set up their passing game, there’s a lot of room for explosive plays. Minshew mentioned that every conversation he’s had with head coach Nick Sirianni gets him fired up to play because he’s so energetic.

Minshew talked about the most time he’s had with Sirianni was actually when he took a draft visit to the Colts a few years back, and the two were playing H.O.R.S.E. and it got so competitive the QB actually had to take off his button-up shirt. He joked about how that interaction might have played a role into why he’s now in Philly. He also lamented that Sirianni went on to win that matchup.

“That’s why I’m back, I’m back for revenge.”

He admitted that early in the spring he told his agent to handle the business side of things once the Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence, because he was spending a lot of time worrying about it and realized that wasn’t doing any good, and only caused the QB stress and anxiety. From then, Minshew worked on honing in on where he was and put his trust in his agent to make the best decision about his future.

The quarterback emphasized that he’s all in for Philadelphia now that he’s here, and he’s hit the ground running. Minshew went on to say that the coaches and other QBs have been very helpful as he tries to get up to speed. He doesn’t really know what the next few weeks will look for him as he works on learning everything he needs to, but does know he’ll be doing a whole lot of studying.

Minshew played with Andre Dillard at Washington State University and was asked about reconnecting with the left tackle.

“Dude, Andre’s my guy. I’m fired up to be here with him. I saw him the other day and gave him a big ol’ hug because it’s been awhile. But, I know that he’s had a little bit of the injury bug, but man I tell ya, I believe in him as much as anybody, and the stuff we’ve done together — you know I’ve seen this dude play some great ball, and I know he has some great ball in front of him. So, I’m really excited for the opportunity to be back with him.”

When asked about what he knows about the Eagles’ fanbase, Minshew joked that he heard how kind everyone is, but then went on to say that he loves being in a place where people are passionate about football.