Jaguars turning to Blake Bortles for season finale at Texans
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Blake Bortles is getting another start for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It could be his last.
Coach Doug Marrone announced Wednesday that Bortles will start the season finale at Houston (10-5), giving the embattled quarterback a chance to close out the season on a positive note.
Bortles came off the bench at Miami last Sunday and led Jacksonville (5-10) to the go-ahead score in a 17-7 victory. The fifth-year pro completed 5 of 6 passes for 39 yards and carried four times for 25 yards, including scampers of 14 and 13 yards on a field-goal drive that broke a 7-all tie.
Bortles looked considerably better than Cody Kessler, who was sacked five times and lost a fumble for the third consecutive week. Kessler left the game in the second quarter with a bruised throwing shoulder and later returned before sitting down for good.
Kessler led the Jaguars to two touchdowns in 37 possessions as the starter. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 709 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also was sacked 22 times, including 18 in four starts.
Bortles has completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,611 yards, with 13 TDs and 10 INTs. He has been sacked 28 times and lost four fumbles.
Because of his inconsistency, it seems Bortles will unlikely return to Jacksonville in 2019. The third overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft is due to count $21 million against the salary cap next season. The Jags can save $9.5 million by cutting him with a post-June 1 designation, making his cap hit only $11.5 million in dead money.
Jacksonville is expected to select a quarterback early in the draft and sign a veteran to start until the rookie is ready.
But it will be Bortles under center against the Texans, who can clinch the AFC South with a victory.
Although Bortles would welcome another year with the Jaguars — he recently bought a $3.75 million home in Jacksonville — he acknowledges what many around the league and inside the team’s facility believe to be true: that his tenure in Jacksonville is coming to close.
Bortles never developed into a franchise quarterback, but he fooled top decision-maker Tom Coughlin and general manager Dave Caldwell by playing turnover-free football in the 2017 postseason. That earned him a three-year, $58 million contract in February that ranks high on Coughlin’s list of poor decisions.
Bortles struggled early in the season, especially after losing a number of starters on the offensive side of the ball. He was without his top receiver, his top two tight ends, several offensive linemen and played six games without running back Leonard Fournette. Bortles lost seven consecutive starts before Marrone made the move to Kessler.
Now, he’s back to Bortles — for one more game.
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