Getty Blake Bortles #5 of the Los Angeles Rams prepares for a game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona.
Well, it is safe to say the Green Bay Packers didn’t overpay to add former starting quarterback Blake Bortles to their 2021 roster.
According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, the contract Bortles signed with the Packers on May 13 is a basic, one-year deal worth $1.075 million that offers him no bonuses or guaranteed money, meaning Green Bay will owe him nothing against its salary cap if he does not make the 53-man roster this summer. The contract also gives Packers the veteran salary benefit, reducing his overall cap hit to a meager $850,000.
Bortles was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft and spent his first five seasons as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ starting quarterback, averaging more than 3,500 passing yards per year and throwing a combined 103 touchdowns to 75 interceptions. Over the past two seasons, he has floated around the league as a backup and practice-squad quarterback, spending time with both the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams.
Bortles has already reported to the Packers for voluntary OTAs and was spotted on the sideline during the team’s open-to-media practice on Tuesday. He will wear No. 9 for Green Bay.
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Contract Defines Bortles’ Intended Role
While there was little doubt at the time of his signing, the details of the Packers’ contract with Bortles clearly define their expectations for him coming into 2021 training camp. He may be a veteran passer with more than 75 NFL starters under his belt, but he is not someone they seem to view as a stop-gap quarterback in the event that they are unable to persuade Aaron Rodgers to return to the team next season. If they did, there would be at least some form of bonus or incentive attached to his deal.
In all likelihood, Bortles has come to Green Bay strictly to compete for two different types of backup quarterback jobs. Either he ends up the third-stringer (potentially on the practice squad) behind both Rodgers and 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love or the Packers dispatch one of the latter two and he serves as the primary backup for whichever is left standing.
One good thing Bortles has going for him is his connection to Packers offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett. While quarterback Kurt Benkert is a newcomer looking to forge trust and showcase skill, Bortles has played good football under Hackett during their shared seasons together in Jacksonville. Maybe Bortles will outright play better than Benkert in OTAs and the preseason (if they both make it that long), but it doesn’t hurt to have an added advantage.
Tim Boyle Move May Look Better Now
The Packers have signed two quarterbacks and worked out two others — Chad Kelly and Donald Hammond III — over the past month since news about their rift with Rodgers has gone public, but there was also another crucial quarterback decision made earlier this offseason when Green Bay opted not to place a restricted free agent tender on backup Tim Boyle.
Boyle went from an undrafted rookie in 2018 to being Rodgers’ primary backup in 2019 after beating out DeShone Kizer in his second training camp with the Packers. His veteran experience helped him keep that role again in 2020 despite the arrival of Love as he demonstrated a comfortability with the offense that was never needed as Rodgers won his third career MVP. While his departure originally seemed inevitable, there has been some speculation about whether the Packers would have been better off keeping him in light of the Rodgers situation.
In terms of cost, the Packers made the right call going with Bortles over Boyle. The cost of placing the lowest-value restricted tender on Boyle would have run the Packers about $2.183 million against the 2021 salary cap and been guaranteed from the moment Boyle signed it, whereas Bortles costs less than $1 million for a full season or nothing to cut loose in camp.
Only time can tell which quarterback will be better on the field, though.