The Jacksonville Jaguars are blowing it all up after yet another failed season. After firing head coach Gus Bradley, team general manager Dave Caldwell put the entire roster on notice on Monday. This includes quarterback Blake Bortles, who isn’t guaranteed a starting spot next season.
#Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on if the new coach has a mandate to start Blake Bortles: “There won’t any mandates.” … For anyone.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 19, 2016
Jags GM Dave Caldwell says there are "no untouchables" when asked about Blake Bortles but adds "I do still believe in Blake."
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 19, 2016
This isn’t terribly shocking news. Bortles has been a train wreck in 2016, regressing badly after breaking out in 2015 as a second-year passer.
Unfortunately, even after spending time with noted quarterback whisperer Tom House this past offseason, Bortles made headlines for all the wrong reasons as the Jags fell into the abyss.
Through 14 games, the young signal caller out of Central Florida has completed just 57.8 percent of his passes (often missing badly) while throwing 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. It’s a far cry from the 35 touchdowns he threw last year, and it’s troubling that his completion rate has dropped in each of his first three seasons in the NFL.
Worse still, he continues to struggle with bad starts, throwing just two touchdowns in the first quarter all year. Bortles is also an NFL record holder in a stat no quarterback wants to be associated with — the dreaded pick-six (more on that here).
Simply put, as much as the Jaguars would love to say they have their quarterback of the future, it’s by no means a given that Bortles can live up to that billing.