Two days later and roughly 3,000 miles away, Blake Bortles seems to have found himself a suitor.
Bortles, who was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday, is scheduled to visit the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, NFL Network’s Michael Silver reported, per a team source, on Friday evening.
The former first-round pick could be a veteran backup for starter Jared Goff.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Jaguars, Bortles went 24-49 as a starter in Jacksonville. He’s coming off a forgettable season in 2018 in which he was 3-9 as a first-stringer with 2,718 yards passing, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Still, he’s a quarterback with five years of starting experience who helped the Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game in 2017, which is a fine resume for any reserve QB.
Goff started all 16 games during the Rams‘ run to the Super Bowl, throwing all but seven of the team’s passes in 2018. Punter Johnny Hekker tossed four passes and backup QB Sean Mannion threw three.
Mannion is now a free agent. Currently, the Rams‘ only other quarterback on the roster is Brandon Allen, who coincidentally is also a former Jaguars draft pick.
So Bortles might be heading to a title contender.
Perhaps it’s fitting. Bortles was released by Jacksonville after it signed former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles and now he might be backing up the quarterback of the Super Bowl runner-up.