Whether it’s his excuse for the poor play we saw from him this season or something else, Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles decided to inform the media on Monday that he played through two shoulder separations and Tendonitis in his wrist throughout the 2016 season.
Jaguars QB Blake Bortles told @ESPNdirocco that he played this season with two shoulder separatoins and wrist tendonitis.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 2, 2017
That surely could have played a role in Bortles’ regression from what was a solid 2015 campaign.
The former top-three pick may have ended his season putting up consecutive 300-plus yard passing performances without an interception, but the majority of his 2016 campaign was a downright disaster.
Bortles put up another 16 interceptions and completed less than 59 percent of his passes for a Jaguars team that was among the biggest disappointments in the NFL during the 2016 regular season. Bortles has now thrown 51 interceptions in 45 career starts, including a whopping 11 that have been returned for touchdowns. It’s safe to say his career-long struggles with interceptions have not been a product of these recently disclosed injuries.
Now that the Jaguars themselves have moved on from head coach Gus Bradley, it will be interesting to see whether Bortles has a future with the team. In reality, a new coach might want to bring in his own guy. Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen.