Blake Bortles

AFC Rumors: Bills, Bortles, Patriots, Broncos

August 26th, 2017 at 8:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marcell Dareus‘ standing with the new Bills regime took a hit Saturday night when the team sent the cornerstone defensive tackle home from its preseason game against the Ravens for violating a team rule. The nature of the violation isn’t known, but first-year GM Brandon Beane addressed the matter pregame.

“A guy with his contract status, you’d hope he’d be a better leader than that,” Beane said, via CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (on Twitter).

A quadriceps injury has slowed the seventh-year defensive tackle in practice, so it’s uncertain he would have played anyway. Nevertheless, this is another run-in with authority for Dareus, who hasn’t been eligible to play in a Week 1 game since 2014. He was suspended for four games last season and one in 2015, and as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com points out, benched in multiple games under Doug Marrone in 2013 because he showed up late to meetings.

Here’s the latest out of Buffalo and some other AFC cities as the league’s most relevant preseason week continues.

Shortly after the Bills sent Dareus home, they lost their quarterback to a concussion. Tyrod Taylor left the game because of a head injury, the team announced. He is in the concussion protocol. A third-down sack led to Taylor’s removal from the game. Nathan Peterman replaced the starter.
One key facet of Blake Bortles‘ game got him the nod to make a third straight Week 1 Jaguars start over Chad Henne. Marrone pointed to Bortles’ scrambling ability as the key, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union notes. Bortles has rushed for 1,088 yards in his three-year career, and the Jags face the Texans and Ravens during the first two weeks of the season. O’Halloran writes this decision doesn’t change the Jags’ 2018 draft strategy, when another quarterback figures to be in play (barring an unexpected Bortles bounce-back effort).
The Patriots cut Kony Ealy a week early in order to help the former Panthers defensive end catch on with his next team early, thus giving him a better shot to make an impact in 2017, Bill Belichick said. “I just think it’s one of those things that didn’t work out or wasn’t going to work out,” Belichick said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “Nobody’s fault. He worked hard. We worked hard. A lot of effort put in, but in the end, we didn’t feel like this was going to work out. It gives him an opportunity about a week ahead of next week to hopefully create a better opportunity for himself.” Ealy will be placed on waivers.
Saddled with a ravaged defensive end corps, the Broncos would make sense as an Ealy fit. But Troy Renck of Denver7 said the team doesn’t plan to pursue him (Twitter link). Denver is without Derek Wolfe and Jared Crick for the time being and saw recently re-signed defensive lineman Billy Winn tear an ACL in the Broncos’ first preseason game. UFA addition Zach Kerr also left the Broncos’ preseason game Saturday with a first-half knee injury. Ealy’s best game came against the Broncos, with the former second-round pick sacking Peyton Manning three times and intercepting him once in Super Bowl 50.

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles Earns Starting Gig

August 26th, 2017 at 8:37am CST by Ben Levine

It’s looking like Blake Bortles isn’t at risk of getting cut, after all. According to ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco (via Twitter), the Jaguars have named Bortles as their starting quarterback heading into the regular season.

We heard earlier this week that the organization could consider releasing or trading the embattled quarterback if he didn’t earn the starting gig over Chad Henne. The backup ultimately started the team’s third preseason game, and coach Doug Marrone revealed that there was in fact a competition at the position.

Ultimately, the logic was financially motivated, as the Jaguars had picked up Bortles’ non-guaranteed fifth-year option for 2018. Had Bortles suffered an injury and subsequently couldn’t pass a physical, the Jaguars would be on the hook for upwards of $19MM. Cutting the player would have cost the organization $6.57MM. However, that minor financial hit may have been worth avoiding the “potentially catastrophic scenario” of having to dedicate $19MM-plus in cap space to an injured Bortles in 2018.

Bortles, the third-overall pick in the 2014 draft, took a bit of a step back in 2016 following a productive 2015 campaign. The 25-year-old did start all 16 games and completed 58.9-percent of his passes, but he only threw for 3,905 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. Bortles also has a penchant for losing the ball, as he lost a career-high six fumbles last season.

Latest On Blake Bortles

August 24th, 2017 at 6:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jaguars will consider jettisoning quarterback Blake Bortles if he doesn’t win the starting job over the favorite, Chad Henne, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says (video link). Jacksonville may attempt to trade Bortles, though Rapoport notes that he’d likely need to rework his contract to make that a possibility, or simply cut him. If they do get rid of Bortles, the Jaguars could turn to 2016 sixth-round pick Brandon Allen as Henne’s backup, Rapoport suggests.

Jacksonville would be averse to retaining Bortles as a reserve because of his non-guaranteed fifth-year option for 2018. That option, worth upward of $19MM, will trigger if Bortles suffers a serious injury this season and is unable to pass a physical next March. The Redskins were in a similar situation when they kept the beleaguered Robert Griffin III around during his fifth-year option season in 2015, but that was at the insistence of owner Daniel Snyder, per Rapoport, who reports that Bortles doesn’t have that type of backing from the Jaguars’ Shad Khan.

The 25-year-old Bortles, like Griffin, joined his team as an extremely high pick. The Jaguars invested the third selection in 2014 on Bortles, who showed flashes during a 35-touchdown second season, but he underwhelmed in his other two years and has been especially woeful this summer. He’s therefore likely to lose the starting job to the 32-year-old Henne, who has a lackluster resume of his own across nine seasons, and perhaps his roster spot.

Cutting Bortles would cost Jacksonville $6.57MM and save the team no money this year, but at least the Jags would escape the potentially catastrophic scenario of having to dedicate $19MM-plus in cap space to him in 2018.

Latest on Jaguars’ QB Competition

August 23rd, 2017 at 6:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jaguars announced that they will start quarterback Chad Henne over Blake Bortles in their exhibition game against Carolina on Thursday. Both signal-callers will receive first-team reps, but the fact that Henne will get top billing in the Jaguars’ most important preseason game seemingly bodes well for his chances of starting the team’s regular-season opener in Houston on Sept. 10.

[RELATED: Jaguars Offseason In Review]

Bortles, whom the Jaguars chose third overall in the 2014 draft, had a mediocre-at-best first three seasons in the NFL and has been ineffective this summer. Both his on-field woes and his contract status combine to cloud his future in Jacksonville. If he doesn’t win the starting over Henne, the Jaguars could cut Bortles, though doing so would leave them with $6.57MM in dead cap and no savings. But keeping him would be risky, as Bortles has a $19MM fifth-year option for 2018 that’s guaranteed for injury. Should Bortles stay on the Jags’ roster this season and suffer an injury that leaves him unable to pass a physical next March, they’d be on the hook for that sizable sum a year from now.

Henne, like Bortles, hasn’t exactly established himself as a quality starter during his time in the league. A second-round pick of the Dolphins in 2008, the 32-year-old has totaled 65 appearances (53 starts) and posted poor numbers (59.3 completion percentage, 58 touchdowns against 63 interceptions, 75.5 passer rating). The ex-Michigan standout hasn’t started a regular-season game since 2014.

Unless the light bulb goes on for Henne or Bortles during the season, a fairly talented Jacksonville team will struggle to break its nine-year playoff drought or significantly improve over its three-win 2016. Still, although their situation under center looks bleak, the Jaguars have not considered adding an outsider to the mix. The best options available in free agency include Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III, while the Browns’ Brock Osweiler is on the block. Griffin and Osweiler come with obvious on-field warts, though, while teams have been averse to signing Kaepernick because of his his off-field activism and his recent decline in performance.

Jaguars Not Pursuing Free Agent QBs

August 19th, 2017 at 8:39pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Jaguars intend to open their starting quarterback job to a competition between Blake Bortles and Chad Henne, there’s no indication the club is examining free agent signal-callers, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. Indeed, Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone says he hasn’t discussed external quarterback additions with the team’s front office, per Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link).

Even if the Jaguars were open to signing a free agent quarterback, they’d enter a market that is extremely lacking in options. Colin Kaepernick is the only available passer who may represent a clear upgrade over Bortles and/or Henne, but the former 49er is a tough sell in some NFL markets due to his social activism. Other quarterbacks who remain unsigned include Robert Griffin III, Shaun Hill, and Zach Mettenberger.

Bortles hasn’t lost the Jaguars’ quarterback job just yet, per Pelissero, who cautions that Jacksonville is running a true competition between the former No. 3 overall pick and Henne. However, the club’s decision won’t be based solely on production — finances are involved, too. The Jaguars have already exercised Bortles’ 2018 option worth north of $19MM, and that total will become guaranteed if Bortles suffers a serious injury and can’t pass a physical next spring.

As such, Jacksonville could potentially bench Bortles for the season in order to keep him healthy, ensuring that they’ll be able release him in 2018. The Redskins used the same tactic in 2015, placing RG3 on the sidelines so that he wouldn’t suffer an option-guaranteeing injury. Of course, the Jaguars wouldn’t be in this precarious position had they declined Bortles’ option earlier this year, a move Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap argues would have been correct.

Jaguars Open Up QB Competition

August 18th, 2017 at 8:36am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars now have an open quarterback competition. After a dismal showing from Blake Bortles on Thursday night, head coach Doug Marrone says the starting job is up for grabs.

“It’s this simple: I’m looking for the best person to lead this offense,” Marrone said (Twitter link via John Oehser of the team’s website). “[The QB position] is right up there for grabs, and either person can take it…It’s not like [Bortles] is not the quarterback. He’s got to go earn it.”

The Jaguars exercised Bortles’ fifth-year option for 2018, but that season is guaranteed for injury only. If the Jaguars see Chad Henne as the superior signal caller right now, then the former No.3 overall pick might not be long for Jacksonville. As Mike Florio of PFT recently suggested, the Jaguars may want to consider benching Bortles for the entire season so that they do not risk him getting injured and collecting on $19MM+ when they don’t want him. It would be an extreme measure, but it’s not unprecedented – the Redskins did the same thing with Robert Griffin III in 2015.

Bortles showed promise in 2015, when he threw for the second-most touchdowns in the NFL (35, one behind Tom Brady) and placed seventh in passing yards (4,428). However, after a down 2016 and a rocky summer, the Jaguars may wind up going in a different direction.

Extra Points: Bortles, Kap, Rosen, Browns

August 17th, 2017 at 9:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Blake Bortles has struggled so much this summer that the Jaguars may have to consider benching the quarterback in order to avoid a catastrophic injury that would guarantee his fifth-year option for 2018, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines (Twitter link). Such an injury for Bortles this season would leave the Jags on the hook for upward of $19MM a year from now, which even a healthy version of the 2014 third overall pick hasn’t been worth during his three seasons in the NFL. Keeping Bortles away from the field to prevent any chance of the option triggering wouldn’t be a first in the league – the Redskins did it with Robert Griffin III in 2015.

Meanwhile, in light of Bortles’ second straight lackluster performance of the preseason on Thursday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the Jaguars should bring free agent signal-caller Colin Kaepernick in to take the starting job. While Kaepernick’s social activism makes him a tough sell for many teams’ decision makers and fans, he at least possesses a superior on-field resume to both Bortles and backup Chad Henne.

Make-Or-Break Year: Blake Bortles

July 7th, 2017 at 9:02pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Quarterback Blake Bortles is under Jaguars control for the next two years, but it’s reasonable to suggest he’s entering the quintessential make-or-break season. The Jaguars decided in May to pick up Bortles’ fifth-year option for 2018, which will cost them upward of $19MM if he plays the season under it, though that’s guaranteed for injury only. That means they’ll be able to end the Bortles experiment next offseason if he struggles through 2017 but emerges with his health intact.

Staying on the field hasn’t been an issue to this point for Bortles, who has appeared in no fewer than 14 games in any of his three seasons and played full slates in each of the previous two years. While Bortles has shown durability, his run-of-the-mill output leaves questions as to whether he’ll end up as Jacksonville’s long-term solution under center. Bortles starred at Central Florida from 2012-13, leading the quarterback-starved Jaguars to use the third overall pick on him in 2014, but he hasn’t lived up to his draft slot in the pros.

At his best, Bortles showed real promise in 2015, his second season, when he fired the NFL’s second-most touchdowns (35, one behind Tom Brady) and amassed the league’s seventh-most passing yards (4,428, on 7.3 yards per attempt). He also averaged an outstanding 6.0 yards per carry and added two more scores on 52 rushes. Bortles’ performance that year came with negatives, namely the league’s fifth-worst completion rate (58.6 percent) and highest interception total (18), but it still looked as if the Jaguars had a legitimate building block on their hands.

The Jags went just 5-11 in 2015, but thanks to Bortles’ progress and an action-packed offseason, the club went into last year as a somewhat popular pick to push for a playoff spot. Instead, both the team and Bortles flopped en route to a 3-13 mark, and the QB was among the main reasons for its awful season. Even though Bortles took a career-low 34 sacks – down from 55 as a rookie and 51 in 2015 – and was once again a threat on the ground (6.2 YPC, three TDs on 58 carries), there was a notable decline in his production as a passer. The 6-foot-5, 232-pounder threw for 23 scores, 12 fewer than he tossed as a sophomore, against 16 INTs, saw his YPA drop over a yard (6.2), and completed under 59 percent of attempts for the third straight year.

Toward the end of their nightmarish 2016, the Jaguars fired head coach Gus Bradley. At the time, general manager Dave Caldwell suggested that Bradley’s successor could pick a different quarterback. But the Jags then tabbed ex-Bradley assistant Doug Marrone as his replacement, and both Marrone and Caldwell’s new superior, executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin, quickly showed confidence in Bortles.

The Coughlin-led Jaguars went to work in the offseason to ensure Bortles would have more at his disposal in his age-25 year than he did in any of his first three campaigns. Jacksonville used its first-round pick (No. 4 overall) on former LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who should add another dimension to an offense that finished a below-average 17th in yards per carry and a far worse 29th in rushing DVOA last season. The Jaguars also reinforced their offensive line, adding veteran bookend Branden Albert and second-round tackle Cam Robinson to a group that already had capable starters in center Brandon Linder, guards Patrick Omameh and A.J. Cann, and right tackle Jermey Parnell.

With Fournette, improved personnel along the line and the established wide receiver trio of Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns returning, it should be harder than ever for Bortles to fail. If he does, the Jaguars would be within reason to cut the cord and go back to the drawing board at the game’s foremost position next offseason. At that point, Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor and Alex Smith could be among the league’s free agents and the likes of USC’s Sam Darnold, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson may offer enticing options in the draft.

QB Notes: Carr, Stafford, Bortles, FAs

July 1st, 2017 at 9:45am CST by Ben Levine

During the press conference to announce his new contract, Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had said that he wanted to leave some money for the organization to re-sign his teammates.

“The main thing that I could just remember was all along the way, I was like, ‘How do we keep my teammates?’” Carr said (via Raiders.com). “That’s, I don’t know if it’s weird how it sounds, but that was just what I kept telling him. I was like, ‘OK. that’s cool. Yeah, that’s awesome, wow, cool. Is this good for Gabe [Jackson]? Is this good for Khalil [Mack]? Is this good for Amari [Cooper]?’ [Reggie] can tell you himself, these are things that I said to him numerous amounts of times. I didn’t want to hurt our team; that’s the last thing I would ever want to do. So, hopefully we didn’t That’s the last thing that I intended to do and that’s kind of why I was so involved.”

Well, Carr’s brother, former NFL quarterback David Carr, said the Raiders star left money on the table so the team could specifically re-sign offensive guard Gabe Jackson (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com). While Carr still became the first player in NFL history to make more than $25MM a season, his contract apparently left enough room for the organization to re-sign Jackson to a five-year, $56MM extension.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL pertaining to the league’s quarterbacks…

With all the talk surrounding free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Roy Cummings of FloridaFootballInsiders.com notes that there are a number of available signal-callers who could justify having a roster spot in the NFL. Besides the former 49ers quarterback, Cummings lists Vince Young, Robert Griffin, Christian Ponder, Johnny Manziel, and Jay Cutler as those who are still awaiting phone calls.
Matthew Stafford‘s 2018 franchise tag value will be around $26.4MM, according to Albert Breer of the MMQB.com. The reporter notes that this will give the veteran some leverage during contract negotiations with the Lions, as the “the expected slotted number” was around $22MM. Next season, Stafford will be earning a $16.5MM base salary in the final year of his contract.
The Jaguars acquisition of rookie running back Leonard Fournette, rookie lineman Cam Robinson, and veteran offensive tackle Branden Albert should give the organization some clarity on quarterback Blake Bortles, writes Breer. The 25-year-old, who seemingly took a step back last season following a breakout 2015 campaign, had his fifth-year option for 2018 picked up earlier this offseason.

Jaguars Pick Up Blake Bortles’ Option

May 1st, 2017 at 10:27am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars announced that they have exercised quarterback Blake Bortles‘ fifth-year option. Bortles will now have the 2018 season tacked on to his contract, but it’s guaranteed for injury only.

“This is a smart business decision for the team for several reasons,” said Jaguars Executive Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin. “It makes sense for us going forward and it’s good for Blake and for the Jaguars.”

The Jaguars used the No. 3 overall pick to select Bortles in 2014 and things have not gone according to plan. Last year, Bortles was horrendous, but he reportedly was playing through a shoulder injury that hampered his production. Those taking the half-glass-full approach can point to the 2015 season as proof that Bortles can turn things around. In that sophomore campaign, Bortles threw for 4,428 yards and 35 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. Pro Football Focus gave him an 80.3 overall score that year, a mark which painted him as a quality starter.

Earlier this year, before the team reorganized the front office, GM Dave Caldwell said the next coach wouldn’t have to start Bortles this season. Later, after Doug Marrone was hired as head coach and Coughlin was appointed as a top decision maker, he backtracked on that statement, saying the fourth-year player was going to be the team’s main quarterback.

Bortles is scheduled to earn upwards of $19MM in the additional season.

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