Blake

Bortles

Bortles, the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, played five seasons in Jacksonville before playing one year with the Rams and bouncing around practice squads over the past couple seasons. An erratic, risk-taking passer, Bortles was a top-10 fantasy quarterback in 2015 on the strength of 35 touchdowns (along with 18 picks) and more than 4,400 passing yards. He helped lead the Jaguars to the 2017 AFC title game, nearly pulling up a stunning upset against the Patriots. No QB threw more interceptions than Bortles from 2014 to 2018. Fantasy players will be forever grateful to Bortles for fueling Allen Robinson’s wildly productive 1,400 yards, 14-touchdown 2015 season.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Bortles requested his release and the team obliged after bringing on journeyman Andy Dalton as Jameis Winston’s backup. With strong links to new Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett, look for Denver to enter the Bortles sweepstakes in the coming weeks. Bortles has completed 59.3 percent of his NFL passes for 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions over six years.

With Taysom Will and Trevor Siemian on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Bortles should serve as the backup for Ian Book this week against the Dolphins. Book is only startable in deep superflex formats.

The team activated Kurt Beknert from the practice squad reserve/COVID-19 list in a corresponding move. Bortles was brought in as an emergency backup to Jordan Love when both Benkert and Aaron Rodgers were on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Bortles will wait at the ready for a similar situation to arise for the remainder of the year.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that Bortles will sign to the Packers’ practice squad and be eligible to join the 53-man roster for their Week 9 matchup with the Chiefs. Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Benkert have both been ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19. That leaves Jordan Love as the only quarterback on the active roster and there’s still a chance that Love returns a positive test before Sunday. Assuming he isn’t placed on the COVID list, Love will start and Bortles will serve as his backup. Bortles spent the summer in Green Bay so he’ll have a better understanding of the playbook than the average last-minute signing would.

With Russell Wilson expected to miss a significant amount of time, the Seahawks are in the market for a quarterback. Bortles spent part of the offseason with the Packers as they worked through the Aaron Rodgers saga, but he was released in July once it became apparent Rodgers would be back. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reported that Seattle is not expected to sign him at this time.

Bortles was brought in toward the beginning of the Aaron Rodgers debacle as a familiar face to head coach Matt LaFleur. With Rodgers officially back for the 2021 season, Bortles’ services were no longer needed. A veteran passer with five years of starting experience, the former Jaguar should be able to land a gig as a backup or third-string passer on another team. With a strong arm and spotty accuracy, Bortles has the makings of the next iconic journeyman backup. The Packers also waived quarterback Jake Dolegala, leaving Kurt Benkert and Jordan Love as the remaining backups.

Confirmation of Gutekunst’s refusal to part with Rodgers comes as an important deadline approaches. If the team were to trade Rodgers after June 1, it would free up $16.05 million in salary cap space this year; the team would absorb a $21.152 million dead money hit. Green Bay would be dealt a $38.356 million dead money charge if they traded the NFL MVP before June 2. Rodgers has made it clear that his grievance is not with the team’s coaches or players, but with Gutekunst and the Packers’ front office. If Rodgers chooses retirement over returning to Green Bay, he wouldn’t collect the remaining $23 million in signing bonuses on his contract and the Packers could recoup the $6.8 million roster bonus Rodgers recently signed. That would leave Jordan Love and Blake Bortles as the Packers’ QBs headed into 2021. Hello darkness, my old friend.

As Silverstein notes, Jordan Love is the Packers’ only quarterback on the roster scheduled to be at in-person workouts that begin next week. Aaron Rodgers is holding out in hopes of a trade. Bortles keeps getting chances in the league and has a history with coach Matt LaFleur from their time together with the Rams and OC Nathaniel Hackett when the two were with the Jaguars. A QB room of Love and Bortles would instill zero confidence in this offense.

Bortles, 29, has familiarity with both coach Matt LaFleur with the Rams and OC Nathaniel Hackett after the two went to the AFC title game together with the Jaguars. This move is solely based on familiarity, as Hackett reportedly “loves” Bortles. For Bortles, he’ll get to sling the ball around at in-person workouts next week alongside Jordan Love with Aaron Rodgers keeping his distance from the team in hope of a trade out of town. Love and Bortles would make for a hilariously-bad QB duo if Rodgers is indeed dealt.