The Jacksonville Jaguars are having a nightmare season sitting at 2-10 after the loss Sunday afternoon to the Denver Broncos. Prior to the season, they thought the offense was the last thing they had to worry about. With all the youth and talent that played very well last season, expectations were even higher this season. Unfortunately, just about everyone along the offense has regressed from last season, but no one more than Blake Bortles.
Blake Bortles Needs Competition
The Jaguars have had Chad Henne backing up Blake Bortles since he took the reins midway through his rookie season. Reports have indicated he has been retained because Blake really enjoys working with him. Obviously, for a young quarterback you want him to be comfortable and in a good environment. You want an ideal veteran presence backing him up to help him along the way. But going into his fourth season in 2017, it’s time for Bortles to take the job and run with it or think about seriously moving on. Chad Henne won’t bring the level of competition needed to push Bortles.
Most thought going into this season that the Jaguars had their franchise quarterback. Unfortunately, a serious regression in mechanics has plagued Blake Bortles this season. This has caused the Jaguars to fall short of their expectations prior to this season in which they thought .500 was a realistic possibility.
Free Agency
This off-season, the Jaguars need to find someone to provide some actual competition for Bortles. If they go into free agency and sign a veteran quarterback that can push him a little that would go a long way. I believe Blake Bortles to be a hard working player that seriously cares, and there isn’t anything to show otherwise. What is happening now isn’t working though and things need to change as this organization has been in a rut for far too long.
NFL Draft
Another possible option for competition would be to draft someone in the middle rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft. I believe it’s always a good idea to take a quarterback every couple years. If you hit on a player at such a crucial position at that point in the draft, he can be a valuable trade chip down the road. You would now have a possibility of that happening and show Blake Bortles that if he wants that big payday he needs to perform better.
This off-season is going to be a very big one for the Jaguars. The defense has shown it’s ready to start competing in the AFC South. If this Jaguars team wants to take that step then the quarterback play needs to be better next year. I fully expect Bortles to go to California and see Tom House to work on his mechanics this off-season and get back on track. That was instrumental in his jump from his first year to his second year. With that, you still need to bring someone in to continue to push him throughout the season. It’s not a bad idea to have another solid option if he just doesn’t cut it either.
