JACKSONVILLE – Doug Marrone on Monday reiterated his thoughts on the Big Topic.
The Big Topic around the Jaguars is Gardner Minshew II and Nick Foles, and the Jaguars' head coach on Monday essentially said what he said the previous day regarding who will start at quarterback in mid-November.
He hasn't considered it much yet.
And that's because there are other things to consider right now.
"I haven't really thought about it," Marrone said Monday, a day after the Jaguars' 29-15 victory over the New York Jets at TIAA Bank Field Sunday. "But every decision is always a tough decision – unless it's an injury thing where someone just has to go in there."
Minshew, a rookie who has started the last seven games, turned in perhaps the best game of his NFL career Sunday. The three-touchdown, no-interception performance prompted increased discussion among observers about who will start for the Jaguars on November 17 at Indianapolis.
Foles, who started Week 1 after signing as an unrestricted free agent in March, is eligible under league rules to return against Indianapolis from the broken clavicle sustained in the regular-season opener.
Marrone said Sunday following the victory over the Jets that he hadn't thought much about the Foles-Minshew decision because he didn't yet have to decide.
He said Monday he was more concerned with what he called "a unique week" this week, with the Jaguars (4-4) traveling to London to play the AFC South rival Houston Texans (5-3) in the Jaguars' annual home game at Wembley Stadium.
"We've got a lot of guys who are kind of banged up," Marrone said. "Right now, my focus is on trying to see how we can get these guys healthy and feeling good and preparing them for this trip across the pond and really get to this bye week where we can get healed up again."
The Jaguars have won their last two games and four of the last six after an 0-2 start. They are off the week following the Texans game.
Marrone on Monday also addressed multiple players who sustained injuries Sunday: nickel cornerback D.J. Hayden (shoulder), wide receiver Marqise Lee (shoulder), wide receiver Dede Westbrook (neck/shoulder) and safety Ronnie Harrison (neck).
Marrone said a couple of the players will undergo magnetic resonance imaging scans Monday.
"I don't think there's anything long-term," Marrone said of the four players. "I think everyone has a chance to play this week. I'll probably have a better update Wednesday when guys are practicing [for the first time this week]."
The Jaguars on Sunday will play a home game in London for a seventh consecutive season. They lost their first two games there – to San Francisco and Dallas in 2013 and 2014 – before winning three consecutive games in London (Buffalo, Indianapolis and Baltimore in 2015-2017). The Jaguars lost there to defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia last season.
"It's different for everyone in how they want to handle it and what they want to do," Marrone said. "Everyone's trying to search for the perfect way to do it. Having done it in the World League [as a player] and having done it [as a coach] in the NFL, I don't know if there's a perfect way to do it.
"But when you have older players who have been through it, it's more, 'Hey, listen, this is how you're going to feel … this is what you need to do when you get there …' Those things are what's really important. A lot of it depends on each individual player."
