Getty Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blake Bortles
The Jacksonville Jaguars are seemingly prepared to move on from quarterback Blake Bortles this offseason. But before they do so, he’ll receive one more opportunity to hold down the starting job for the team that drafted him. Call it a parting gift, or more likely, a way for the Jaguars to bolster the quarterback’s trade value.
As John Oehser of the team’s official website reported, Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone revealed the team will start Bortles in Week 17.
To be clear, Bortles’ trade value has to be incredibly low at this point, and that’s largely due to his contract. Aside from just that aspect of it, Jacksonville would likely take almost anything to swing a deal for the quarterback this offseason if they truly are deadset on moving on from him.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport spoke about Bortles’ future earlier in the month of December on a Thursday Night Football pregame show. In short, he made it known that Jacksonville is done with the quarterback.
“Their biggest move will involve Bortles. Just a few months after torching New England, he’ll be gone. His replacement could come via the draft, or free agency, or both,” Rapoport said.
The Tough Outlook With Blake Bortles
As much as the Jaguars will surely want to trade Bortles, his contract doesn’t help the situation. When the team gave him a three-year, $54 million extension this past offseason, it meant huge cap hits for the upcoming seasons.
According to Over the Cap, Bortles has a cap number of $21 million in 2019 and $23 million in 2020. If he’s released pre-June 1, it comes with a $16.5 million dead money hit and would free up just $4.5 million in cap space. Although the numbers aren’t drastically high for a quarterback, it’s unlikely teams would take on a player who’s been this hit-or-miss throughout his career with that type of salary.
But, the Jaguars would be wise to at least try, right?
Bortles’ Outlook vs. Cody Kessler’s Struggles
To be clear, there’s no great answer on the debate of whether to start Bortles or Cody Kessler in Week 17. The latter’s play was so poor as of late that he was benched in favor of Bortles last game. The Jaguars offensive line injuries didn’t help the case, but Kessler hadn’t done much to help his future outlook regardless.
In the five games he played, Kessler threw for more than 160 yards just one time and tossed two touchdowns against four interceptions.
As for Bortles, he completed 5-6 passes for 39 yards in limited action while rushing four times for 25 yards. Even if the Jaguars prove unable to trade him this offseason, a strong Week 17 showing would at least give him a chance to help his future. If Bortles plays well, assuming he’s released, he would then have a slightly easier chance to convince teams he can still compete for a starting job.
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