Getty Bortles struggled during his team's first full-pads practice of the season.
Before we dive into the context, it’s important to note that the Jacksonville Jaguars won’t play a competitive game until September 10th, when they visit the Texans for their regular season opener. But Blake Bortles and the Jacksonville Jaguars took the field for training camp on Saturday, and the results weren’t exactly pretty.
According to multiple reports, in the Jaguars first full-pads practice of the season, Blake Bortles threw five interceptions. Yikes.
Now, there are of course multiple factors in play. First, the Jaguars defense is filled with young playmakers. Starters Telvin Smith and Tashaun Gipson each got one, while fourth-year journeyman CB Tyler Patmon got two. The Jaguars are also adjusting to offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was the interim OC for the final nine games of the 2016 season after Greg Olson was relieved of his duties.
But any way you cut it, five interceptions does not look good. And it doesn’t bode well for Bortles, who is heading into what is probably the most important season of his young NFL career.
This is a big year for Bortles, who was a fifth overall pick and is the clear-cut starting QB for the Jaguars. He’s is nearing the end of his first NFL contract, and the Jaguars have a club option on him for the 2018 season. He is 11-34 in 45 NFL starts, and has 51 interceptions that overshadow his 69 touchdown passes.
As many avid fantasy football players will point out, Bortles gets most of those touchdowns when the game is already decided. Bortles thrives in meaningless fourth quarters: he has 26 career TD passes in the final quarter as opposed to only four career first quarter touchdowns.
It’s still very early for the Jaguars, who are projected by most to finish last in the AFC South. After Saturday’s practice, head coach Doug Marrone downplayed Bortles’ performance, stating that, “He’s not the only one out there. There were some good things.” Clearly Marrone is looking for positives with his young team, but the quarterback deficiencies need to be addressed before the Jaguars have any type of team success.