Three years ago today, the Jaguars took themselves out of the quarterback market by sticking with Blake Bortles. The move was widely panned and, ultimately, it did not work out for Jacksonville. 
The Jaguars were fresh off of an AFC Championship Game appearance and their first playoff appearance in nine years. Bortles, meanwhile, tossed a career-low 13 interceptions. Still, his overall body of work did not inspire a ton of confidence – his 60.2% completion percentage actually marked a new career best.
Despite the question marks, Bortles became the first 2014 first-round pick to receive an extension – stars like Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, and Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack were still negotiating for their new deals (Of course, they all eventually secured the bag.)
Reported to be a three-year, $54MM pact, the deal included $26.5MM guaranteed with the potential to reach $66.5MM in total through bonuses. He did not earn those incentives, nor did he get to play out his deal – Bortles was cut loose in 2019, clearing the way for Nick Foles to take over.
Bortles went 3-9 in 12 starts for the Jaguars as head coach Doug Marrone flip-flopped him with Cody Kessler. During his five-year run with the Jaguars, Bortles led the league with 75 interceptions – more than one INT per start.
With his stock at an all-time low, the former No. 3 overall pick hooked on with the Rams in the 2019 offseason. Playing behind Jared Goff, Bortles appeared in only three games and attempted two passes. Without a real opportunity to play in 2019, Bortles did not get a chance to silence his critics. Last year, he found his way to Denver, where he was penalized for breaking the league’s COVID safety protocols. Now, on the verge of his 29th birthday in April, Bortles is a free agent once again. And, much like last year, the former No. 3 overall pick is on the NFL fringes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
There’s something messed up with this place. We keep fighting with each other, none of the TVs get the NFL RedZone channel, my soulmate doesn’t even know who Blake Bortles is. I know this sounds crazy, but I think we’re in the bad place.
Bortles!!! (Molotov cocktail throw)
Jake Jortles!!!
If it wasn’t for The Good Place……
Wasn’t a bad Qb, had a bad coach and system who was undone by his #3 selection.
He has Philadelphia Eagles written all over him. He would be a low cost backup to Jalen Hurts and the Eagles head coach has had some success in developing QBs. I can find little wrong about this suggestion. Just sayin’.
That aged poorly.
Bortles, Leftwich, & Gabbert headline Jax’s first round QB’s this century. Please do not screw up this time Jags!
still think he could be a viable backup
Ravens?
I see a lot of bad arguments about why Mike Tomlin should be fired (he shouldn’t) but if you wanted to make a good argument as to why he should be fired, it is simply this:
He lost playoff games to Tim Tebow and Blake Bortles.
Winner of the prestigious ‘comment of the week’ award!
i think the best argument against Tomlin is they need a fresh voice. he seems like a nice coach but maybe they just need to make a change. perhaps catching on elsewhere (which he easily could would also help him out as well)
Throws off his back foot. Causes him to throw ducks