Blake Bortles has run out of time and chances to prove himself to his current employers.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have decided to part ways with Bortles this offseason, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday on “Up to the Minute.” The report emerges almost two weeks after Borltes lost his job as the Jaguars’ starting quarterback amid a seven-game losing streak. Cody Kessler started under center for the Jags on Thursday in their Week 14 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Bortles, whom the Jaguars selected third overall in the 2014 NFL draft, struggled mightily in his first three NFL seasons, with Jacksonville going 11-34 in games he played in between his rookie campaign and 2016. However, he led the Jags to a 10-6 record and a spot in the AFC Championship Game this past January, earning himself a lucrative contract extension last offseason.
Bortles’ encouraging 2017 season and subsequent new deal renewed hope for his long-term future in Jacksonville, but the optimism has evaporated in 2018, with the 26-year-old leading the team to a 3-8 record before losing his job to Kessler.
Rapoport’s report all but confirms what many have suspected all along: Bortles never will be the Jaguars’ franchise quarterback.
