Free agency: Should the Patriots be interested in the Jaguars' release of Blake Bortles?



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The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles a 4 year contract worth $ 88 million, with "up to $ 102 million", and $ 50.1 million guaranteedIan Rapoport of NFL Media, Mike Garafolo, Albert Breer of MMQB and Adam Schefter of ESPN.

That's a lot of money for the most valuable Super Bowl LII player, who will certainly have high expectations, but this article is not about Foles.

This is Blake Bortles, the quarterback of the Jaguars in battle who has The Rapoport reports will be published once the ink dries.

The 5-year veteran Bortles will turn 27 in one month and has started an extremely poor career. He started 73 games, completed 59.3% of his passes, scored 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions, and posted a score of 80.6 for the passers-by. He is the NFL's second worst during this period (at least 1,000 attempts, surpassing Brock Osweiler).

Bortles was not hopeless at points, since he scored 52/81 (64.2%) for 669 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception for a 105.4 pass in his last two games against the Patriots, including the AFC 2017 Championship Game. . He launched an impressive 35 touchdown passes in 2015 and seemed usable at times in 2017 with a simplified offense. He's mobile, with 1,775 yards in his career,

But while he seems to earn super powers against New England, Bortles looks pretty lost for much of his career. He has been beaten several times for his mediocre play and has made some very tough decisions with football, handling him 46 times so dreadfully (only the Seattle Seahawks of Russell Russell in the last five years). The Jaguar offensive sometimes seemed so inept that it became painful to watch.

So what's wrong with Bortles? Should the Patriots be interested in the former 3rd general choice?

I think the answer should be, Hey, why not?

the Patriots were interested in Bortles in the 2014 NFL draft, to the point where they would have apparently chosen rather than Jimmy Garoppolo if both had sat at the same time. And although the two players have taken completely different directions, the Patriots may still believe that Bortles could change his career.

Bortles has experienced a handful of offensive coordinators during his short time in the league, rising from Jedd Fisch in his rookie year to Greg Olson in his second and third year (returned in the middle of the 2016 season) to Nathaniel Hackett's fourth and fifth year. It should be noted that these three coordinators combined to finish in the bottom half of league offenses in 15 of their 18 seasons as coordinator. It's a terrible record, but Bortles was quarterback in 2 of those 3 seasons where they touted above-average infractions.

Maybe Bortles could be useful in a good situation with good coaches? May be?

But beyond its potential, uh, potential In the field, Bortles would also make an interesting investment from the point of view of the contracts. The Bortles contract for 2019 is guaranteed for $ 6.5 million, with compensation, which means the Jaguars are charged to Bortles' contract up to $ 6.5 million in 2019.

So if the Patriots were to give Bortles the required minimum of $ 805,000 per veteran, the Jaguars would still pay him $ 5.7 million. This encourages Bortles to sign a location that, in his opinion, would be a perfect fit for his long-term career, rather than signing for the first available contract. So, why not come to the Patriots with a cheap deal?

The Patriots have a quarterback in Brian Hoyer who already knows the New England offense and there are many young quarterbacks in the draft that could be just as interesting, if not more, than Bortles.

But the fact that Bortles has not been consistent for five years in the NFL does not mean he should be automatically fired. Bill Belichick loves signing substitutes with a starting experience. If Bortles wants to sign for the minimum required, the Patriots should definitely have a conversation, even if the ultimate answer is "no".

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