It’s pretty amazing how much can change in five years. In March of 2014, Blake Bortles was thought of as a top QB in the nation coming out of UCF. He was coming off a year, in which, he was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-AAC, and won the AAC Championship. Now, the AAC doesn’t boast spectacular competition, but Bortles’ numbers stood out. In his two seasons as the starter, he averaged 3,320 yards, 25 TDs, and 8 INTs. On the ground, he added an average of eight touchdowns a season.
Bortles’ athleticism and numbers made him the #1 QB prospect coming into the 2014 Draft. With the third pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars made him their guy. At the time, Bortles was coming in after their last first-round QB, Blaine Gabbert, busted out. He replaced Gabbert two games into his rookie season.
Over the next five years, the dynamic of the team changed many times. The team fired OC Jedd Fisch and brought in Greg Olson as a replacement after Bortles’ rookie season. The following year, Doug Marrone replaced Gus Bradley as the Head Coach. In 2017, they promoted Nathaniel Hackett from QB coach to OC. In Bortles’ short career, he had to learn different aspects of the game and make changes from essentially five different coaches.
On top of all these coaching changes, the receiving corps didn’t get much better for Bortles. In the same draft that he was taken, Jacksonville invested two second-round picks in WRs, Allen Robinson and Marquis Lee. One of those guys panned out, while they lucked into finding Allen Hurns as an undrafted free agent. The following year, they put all of their eggs in the Julius Thomas basket. Without Peyton Manning, Thomas’ numbers were nowhere near worthy of the payday he was getting from Jacksonville. Since Bortles’ rookie year, the Jaguars have used only two picks in the top three rounds on WRs (those previously mentioned). No marquee free agents were brought in at the position either.
The Jags lost games, but Bortles was still quietly putting up garbage time numbers. In every complete season he’s played, Bortles has thrown for over 3,600 yards and 21 touchdowns. That’s not terrible when you consider they’ve focused on running the ball. What is horrid, however, is his interception total. In his five seasons, Blake Bortles has thrown 75 (!!!) interceptions. A lot of this has to do with decision-making. This is something that can be coach through film and hard work.
This is why we’re here today. Blake Bortles has been cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have replaced him with Nick Foles. At 26, Bortles still has plenty of options, but almost all include being a back-up. There will be quite a few teams calling for his services, but these three situations stand out above the others.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Bortles is going to have to sit for a couple years wherever he goes. New England gives him an opportunity to do that, learn from Brady/Belichick/McDaniels, and potentially start again after Brady’s retirement. We’ve been hearing the “45” response from Brady for a while. Now, that number is only a few years away.
Bortles can get some consistency in his coaching staff, an owner who’s not afraid to spend, and a GM/Coach who’ll build a winning team. That seems like the perfect situation
DENVER BRONCOS
This situation is intriguing. Last week, the Broncos traded their QB, Case Keenum, to Baltimore for Joe Flacco. Flacco is obviously a proven veteran with a Super Bowl ring, but many believe he’s at the end of his career. He’s 34, and his numbers haven’t been great. Baltimore replaced him with rookie Lamar Jackson, and even when he struggled, they didn’t go back.
With his time in the NFL winding down, the one-time top-five Flacco is still in the top 20. What the Broncos can do is bring in Bortles to sit behind Flacco and pick his brain. He can even fill in as injury insurance because we can all admit the Broncos aren’t going anywhere right now.
At this point, the last thing Broncos fans are looking forward to is Elway trying to mastermind another QB. He got lucky with Manning. Since then? Brock Osweiler. Paxton Lynch. Trevor Siemian. Case Keenum. Those guys have been his plans going into seasons. Bortles, with some time to learn and study under a competent QB, can be better than all of them.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
A lot of you are very confused right now. I get that. They have Ryan Tannehill and are reportedly in on Teddy Bridgewater. With that said, the Dolphins have a new Head Coach in Brian Flores, and with a new coach comes change. Miami could move on from Tannehill and save $13+ million this season. And, who knows with Bridgewater. There were already reports that he liked the locker room and atmosphere in New Orleans.
In a year where the QBs in the draft aren’t outstanding, it may make sense for Flores to bring in his own guy for a year while saving some money with the release of Tannehill. Of all the guys on the free agent market, Bortles is the best.
This is one of the only scenarios I see where Bortles gets to be a starter this year. He’d get some stability in the coaching staff, as they’re all new guys. The negative would be that he’s probably not the permanent solution, and he’d know that. He’d probably learn something from Belichick and McDaniels via Miami OC Chad O’Shea, and he’d get to live in Miami. That seems like a win to me.