Unanimous reports came out that two head coaching candidates for Jacksonville aren’t willing to work with Blake Bortles.
The search for a new leader on the sidelines is proving difficult for the Jaguars. Despite boasting a rather impressive roster on both sides of the ball, there is concern over Jacksonville’s commitment with their quarterback Blake Bortles.
The former third overall pick failed to deliver on the hype from the offseason. He completed under 60 percent of his passes for 3,905 yards on 6.2 yards per throw. His 16 interceptions were tied for the fourth most in the league.
Despite the subpar production, replacing Blake Bortles this early would be a terrible decision. Since Jacksonville’s genesis in 1995, they have made the playoffs just six times under two quarterbacks; Mark Brunell and David Garrard.
Finding an all-time great quarterback in the draft takes a lot of skill in scouting and a lot of luck. Dallas originally targeted Connor Cook and stumbled on Dak Prescott after Cook went to Oakland. Things worked out for Dallas in the end. But Jacksonville has been far from lucky when it comes to drafting quarterbacks.
Simply compared to the other quarterbacks drafted in 2014, Bortles can be argued as the second best pigskin-tosser of the draft behind Derek Carr. Bridgewater and Garoppolo make interesting cases, but the stats are on Bortles’ side.
Blake Bortles has turnover issues with 51 career interceptions, but so did Peyton Manning (58) through his first three seasons. Bortles has the talent to really turn things around in Jacksonville with the right training and coaching staff.
While Bortles is not a transcendent quarterback or an all-time great, he still remains a capable signal caller that can lead a talented offense to January football.
This idea on pulling the trigger on certain questionable quarterbacks is absurd because the hunt for someone decent is a daunting task. Jacksonville has a promising and up-and-coming roster and it would be a mistake to waste their youth as the front office searches for another quarterback.
Are there better options out there?
Absolutely, but the search is not worth the time it takes. This team is no longer in a rebuilding stage, especially with such weak competition in their division.
Jacksonville owns the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft.
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