Pirates Name Minshew Starting QB for Week 3

MARSHFIELD—Its already been a crazy ride for the defending champion Pirates.

Despite being the 4^th highest scoring team in week 2, Marshfield was hammered yet again by their rival Krakens, who seem to have their number over the years in the regular season. Coupled with a mere 2.5 point victory over Gold Division newcomers GIMB in week 1 and the Pirates sit at 1-1, in dead last place and feeling very vulnerable.

Managing to secure essentially their entire starting offense from last season, including the addition of WR Amari Cooper, the Pirates were supposed to be even better than last season. But injuries to two of the best players in the entire league—CMC and Michael Thomas—have left them reeling. Julio Jones has also been fighting through an injury. They picked up Devine Ozigbo hoping he would be a starter and he hurt himself on the way to the locker room. James Conner and Evan Engram are one untied shoelace away from landing on IR. It’s a dire time.

The defense hasn’t been any better and has essentially refused to step up at all. Their strength there, typically the LB core, has been banged up (Warner/Wilson) and underperforming (Leonard/Jones). Their defensive ends have been so bad that their best player there had previously been out of football for 5 years. The safeties have been a revolving door of suck—their two best players have both been demoted this year and are no long with the team. Key free agents that the Pirates would normally get are instead signing with Fransburg and others, presumably to “not get hurt”.

Lastly, the Drew Brees experiment has, so far, been a disappointment. Coming off another All-Pro-esque season, the Pirates let his contract expire, figuring they could get him in FA for cheaper than the franchise tag. They didn’t expect a huge bidding war that ended up costing Marshfield more than if they had just franchised him. Initially, the coaching staff was still thrilled to have him back, but lately its clear that he just doesn’t have it at the moment.

“Look, nobody loves Drew more than the city of Marshfield and this coaching staff,” owner/manager Jason Enright said. “We appreciate all he’s done for us over the years. But lately, he’s playing like he’s got a punctured lung out there. Its time to make a change and hopefully generate a spark with this team. That’s why Gardner Minshew is our starting quarterback for week 3.”

Minshew has been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates thus far, currently residing in the top 10 for quarterback scoring, ahead of reigning MVP Lamar Jackson. With no other QB under contract for the Pirates in 2021, this could be the changing of an era in Marshfield.

© 2020, Jason Enright. All rights reserved.