Bears vs. Jaguars injury report, odds, spread: Could tanking Jacksonville start Mike Glennon over Gardner Minshew, rest James Robinson?

The Jacksonville Jaguars are now in the pole position to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and all the Jags have to do to ensure that is finish the season with back-to-back losses. The word "tanking" is definitely being thrown around, and in that regard the Jags could go back to journeyman quarterback Mike Glennon over Gardner Minshew for Sunday's home game vs. Chicago while also resting stellar rookie running back James Robinson. The Bears are currently 7.5-point favorites on the William Hill Sportsbook NFL odds.

Players themselves don't "tank" as NFL careers are too short and these guys are fighting annually for their jobs – just look at what the Jets did last Sunday in shocking the Los Angeles Rams and what the Bengals did Monday in upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers.

However, owners and front offices absolutely are capable of pushing tanking, and thus it could come from above on whom exactly embattled head coach Doug Marrone plays Sunday. The Jaguars have been one of the most anonymous teams in the NFL for years and Lawrence would change all that. You don't think owner Shahid Khan is aware of that? His franchise would immediately increase in value with Lawrence.

Marrone, who will be fired after Week 17, has said that Minshew and Glennon will compete this week at practice for the starting job. Minshew absolutely gives the Jags a better chance of winning and in fact won the team's lone game of the season, a 27-20 Week 1 upset of the Colts. Minshew played pretty well last week in completing 22 of 29 for 226 yards with two TDs and no picks, but the hapless Jags were routed by the Ravens in losing a franchise-record 13th straight game.

On the season, Minshew has a solid rating of 95.9, which is 17th in the NFL and better than the likes of Matthew Stafford, Teddy Bridgewater, Ben Roethlisberger, Tua Tagovailoa, Jared Goff, Matt Ryan, Joe Burrow and Cam Newton, among others. At 24, Minshew has a future in the NFL, even if it's as a capable backup.

The 31-year-old Glennon has no future in the league as he's 6-19 as a starter in his career and 0-3 this year. In those three 2020 starts, Glennon has completed 61 percent of his passes for 600 yards, three TDs, three picks and rating of 75.4 that would be near the bottom of the league. Back in March 2017, the Bears inexplicably gave Glennon a three-year deal worth around $21 million. He was 1-3 as a starter for Chicago in 2017 before being jettisoned.

As for Robinson, he was a huge Pro Bowl snub. The undrafted free agent out of Illinois State has 10 touchdowns (seven rushing, three receiving) this season and is the third undrafted rookie ever with 10 touchdowns in the common-draft era, joining Phillip Lindsay (2018) and Dominic Rhodes (2001).

With 1,070 rushing yards (third in the NFL), Robinson is 34 yards behind Rhodes for the most rushing yards by an undrafted rookie in NFL history. Robinson did leave the Baltimore game with an ankle injury, but it's not thought to be serious and he wants to play this week.

However, Marrone would not commit to that and said the team would see how Robinson does after a day or two off from practice. If Robinsons sits, Dare Ogunbowale would likely serve as the Jaguars' primary ball carrier

Marrone said he's not concerned with Jaguars' draft position in final two weeks: "No one's advised me anything different than to go out there and win. We're doing everything we possibly can and that's my job right now and I owe it to the coaches and players."

Jacksonville is guaranteed no worse than the No. 2 overall pick in next April's draft. The Jags have picked No. 2 overall twice in franchise history but never No. 1.

Chicago still has Wild-Card hopes but would be eliminated with a loss and Arizona win over San Francisco. The Bears are 0-5 against the spread in their past five games as favorites. The Bears are fairly healthy out of Week 15, with the main concern being excellent kick-returner Cordarrelle Patterson, who is listed as day-to-day with a knee injury.

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Who will have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft?

• Jaguars -550
• Jets +350

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