Jacksonville Jaguars fans are going to have a chance to cheer for Blake Bortles in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
No, the quarterback will not be taking the field in a uniform.
But he’ll be there in Jacksonville as the Jags host the Cleveland Browns to open the new season.
It’s a highly anticipated game for the Jaguars, who went 13-4 last season and won the AFC South Division. This year will be a chance for them to prove they aren’t a fluke.
With a seemingly straightforward matchup on their plate to start the season, the Jaguars have a chance to impress their home fans before the games get tougher.
The hope will be that Bortles is good for the vibes.
Blake Bortles Showing Up For Week 1
The Jaguars announced that Bortles will be the guy who performs the “First DUUUVAL” before they play the Browns.
That’s a pregame ritual held in Jacksonville that allows the fans to get fired up with the team’s signature chant.
The Jags have embraced “Duuuval” as an in-game chant because they play in Duval County. It’s a way to embrace something that is all theirs, and even though it’s not necessarily a familiar term to the rest of the NFL, it doesn’t have to be.
Bortles will lead the crowd in chanting before the game kicks off, an honor given to a different person for each Jaguars home game.
They chose Bortles to do it to start this potentially higher-profile season in Jacksonville.
Blake Bortles’ NFL Career
The Jaguars picked Bortles with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft and he would spend five seasons in Jacksonville.
His best year was 2017, when he led the Jaguars to a 106 record. They won the AFC South Division and went on a run to the AFC title game.
Bortles is second in the Jaguars’ franchise history in passing touchdowns, with 103. He also is third in passing yards, with 17,646.
On top of that, Bortles’ 35 touchdown passes in the 2015 season are a single-season franchise record.
Bortles played just one more season in the NFL, appearing in three games for the Los Angeles Rams in the 2019 season and completing 1-of-2 passes for three yards.
He did actually stick around for three seasons after that without getting into a game.
In 2020, Bortles was off-and-on the Denver Broncos roster, and then just a week late in that year with the Rams.
In 2021, the Green Bay Packers had Bortles in camp for the summer but then let him go.
Bortles got a quick chance early in the 2022 offseason with the New Orleans Saints, but they chose to cut him and he chose to retire.
Now 34 years old, Bortles has actually taken up a career in construction with NEXGEN Roofing. On Sunday, he’ll have a lot of fans cheering along with him back in Jacksonville.
Jaguars Make Blake Bortles Announcement for Week 1