PULLMAN – The recent wave of quarterback injuries in the National Football League may be an unsettling trend for anyone playing the position at the professional level, but it’s also created an opportunity for less-heralded backups who generally throw their only passes in preseason games.
Backups, mostly, and the occasional third-stringer.
Two Washington State greats have been beneficiaries of those misfortunes, and now multiple ex-Cougars quarterbacks will be starting NFL games in the same week – something that hasn’t happened since New England’s Drew Bledsoe and San Diego’s Ryan Leaf accomplished the feat 19 years ago.
Gardner Minshew, who replaced Nick Foles when the QB went down with a Week 1 collarbone injury, is making his second NFL start for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday against the Tennessee Titans – the team that initially drafted the other ex-Cougar who’ll be getting a nod this weekend.