when is the deadline to decide if they are going to cut him?
and is that the plan?
and is that the plan?
The BOAT to Los Angeles Rams
- Thread starter Poolside Knight
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I wonder if they keep him on. His cap hit is 21 million next year and even if he is cut it is still something like 16+ million.
1 April is the date but they can do it sooner and designate him as post 1APR. It believe it changes how the dead money affects the cap and any potential bonuses he has for that league year. Something like that, not a cap expert at all.
even if he never starts in the NFL again I think it's best for his career(not his bank account) that they cut him, he needs a fresh start somewhere else
I actually think the Rams would be a nice fit for him with how McVay moves the QB off the spot in play-action
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They signed him to a 3 year extension last year. Since they aren't picking up an option or anything like that, there shouldn't be a deadline to decide when to cut him. If they wait until after June 1st they can spread the cap hit out over 2 seasons. Although, they are the worst in the league with regards to their salary cap situation, so my guess is they will cut him as soon as possible to free up cap space.
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June 1st is the date the affects the dead money. After that date you can spread the cap hit out over 2 seasons, instead of taking the hit all in one season.
Rams have Goff. He’d be better if going to a team with old QBs or no great QB. Steelers, Saints, Chargers, Raiders, Dolphins, Bucs or even Patriots. Even though Brady says he has 3 more years he doesn’t.
No one is going to be looking to bring Bortles in as a potential starter, either this season or a couple of years down the road. Teams looking for a starter in free agency would be much more likely to go after Foles, Bridgewater, Tyrod Taylor, or even Flacco, and teams looking for a younger guy to potentially be the starter down the road will do so in the draft. Bortles best option is to go to the team with the best system that fits his game, and maybe he can "re-develop" so to speak, and have a slight chance of ending up in a similar situation as Foles down the road.
Brady just won a SB. I dont know if he has 3 more years, but I also dont see anything that makes me think he doesnt. I do expect the Patriots to draft someone this year, but they are going to be looking for someone to groom from scratch, not a veteran with mechanical issues and accuracy issues.
Some people are underestimating the demand for QBs in this league. Bortles has a decent shot at being a starter again. This year their was a game that featured Cody Kessler vs Josh Johnson. After a few QBs go down with injury next year teams will get desperate.
That’s why I mentioned teams with starters already whose careers were winding down and teams without a clear starter. You guys say competition is good for us but not NFL teams?
I am not exactly sure what you mean by the competition line. I do think he will be signed somewhere as a back up, and obviously you can never predict injuries, so maybe he can establish himself as a starter somewhere under the right circumstances. But, I don't think any NFL teams see him as a starter or even a potential starter right now. I think Bortles needs to go to the system that he feels best fits his game, whether that team has an established starter or not.
For example, I think a team like Dallas could be a potential landing spot. He isn't going to unseat Dak as the starter, but it is a team with a good oline and running game, so if Dak were injured and Bortles were to play, I think maybe he could be decent in that type of system, and then maybe another team would look to bring him in to compete as a starter. I also think the Eagles would be a good situation for him if they reach out, simply because Pederson is very much like Andy Reid in that he knows how to call a game that gets the best out of his QBs. But, if he goes to NE, Chargers, Saints, etc, those teams are going to look to the draft for their future QB, and I don't think those are the best fits for him system wise, so I don't think he would be doing himself any favors by just going to a team with an aging QB.
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Kessler only played because Bortles was benched. The Jags thinking Kessler was the better option isn't a ringing endorsement of Bortles. And Johnson wasn't signed until December. Bortles chance of being a starter is going to rely on a starter getting hurt (which obviously can happen), but if he isn't in a system that fits his game, then he wont be successful in that situation.
I never said anything about him being signed as a starter. That’s why I mentioned the older QBs. It would also make sense for him to go somewhere and compete for a job. Not be a guaranteed backup for the rest of his career just waiting for the starter to get hurt. Those teams would be better off drafting a QB in round 5 or later for a backup and hope to get lucky.
Where do you think he is going to go to be competing for a job right now? Keep in mind, there are probably 4 or 5 upcoming free agent QBs who are probably more desirable than Bortles at this point (you never know how teams look at things, but that would be my guess), and even though it isn't considered a great QB draft, there will still likely be at least 2 first round QBs, and potentially up to 5 that will be taken in the first 2 rounds. I just don't think the situation you are talking about with regards for competing really exists for him right now. I think he is more likely to compete for a back up spot than a starter spot. Maybe if he holds out signing until training camp and waits for a QB to get injured or something, but that certainly isn't ideal either. At this point he is a back up QB, and he needs to go to the situation with a coaching staff that will get his game back on track, more so than worrying about actually competing for a starting job.
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Funny. Basically, you’re saying he can do well when everyone around him is very good.
Basically. I think we have seen that he can't carry a team. Jacksonville has had some talent, but their consistent struggle was the passing game. And I am not saying that is all on Bortles. Their receivers weren't very good and I don't think they were coached very well offensively. But, Bortles also played his part in the passing game struggling. I think on a team with some talent around him he could be a solid back up.
Blake signs with the LA Rams to back up Goff, Goff gets hurt week 4, BB leads them to the Super Bowl and wins*
Bortles had more wins against Brady this last season than Goff has had in his entire career.
That is debatable. I think it was probably closer to being about even, but certainly wasn't a night and day situation. They started out 3-1, and then lost 7 straight games with Bortles as the starter. In those 7 games, they only reached 20 points twice, and were held under 10 points twice with Bortles as QB. He also started the final game where they only put up 3 points. That isn't good. Granted, Kessler didn't light it up either and the offense still struggled, but they were struggling with Bortles too, so I am not sure what you were seeing to think it was night and day. Neither QB was good.
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Eye test. And the fact that Bortles was brought back in during a lost season. In the 5 games Kessler played the jags only scored at least 10 twice. Once when Westbrook has a punt return TD (they scored 13) and his last game where they had 7 before he exited late in the third (they finished with 17). The point kind of was the pieces around the QB were horrible. They replaced Bortles when the team was struggling and the replacement was far far worse. They went back to Bortles because they wanted to actually beat the dolphins, and while receivers still failed to ever get open and linemen couldn’t block, he led them to victory with his scrambling ability.
I mean, neither have been good. If you think he was better than Kessler that's fine, I think it was about even, but regardless, being better than Kessler isn't a very high bar. And you are right, the Jags offense isn't great, but Bortles has been their 5 years, and only 1 of those 5 years would he have been considered an above average QB. That would be his 2nd season where he had good #s and his future looked bright, but even then they only won 5 games. His record as a started is 24-49. And I agree, that isn't all on him. At the same time, a QB with a 24-49 record in the NFL quite simply isn't a starting QB.
Isn’t that record pretty comparable to what the jags were doing before him? I don’t know if that means he didn’t make them better or if they’ve just not been a good organization for a while...maybe both.
Personally, I think he hasn’t been in a good position to succeed with the constant coaching turnover and lack of offensive weapons for support and is better than his numbers. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if he just isn’t better than average at this point.
Yes, which is why he was drafted in the first place. IF Gabbert had been better, then Bortles would have never been in Jacksonville. But, after leaving Jacksonville, Gabbert hasnt done anything to show he should be a starting QB. He is a solid back up. I think the same will probably hold true with Bortles, that he will be a solid back up.
I think teams who need a QB have a tendency to draft guys to high out of desperation, which just causes more problems. Looking at Bortles draft profile, it definitely reads of someone with a lot of potential, but who would need to develop, maybe even sitting a year or two, which obviously didnt happen.
Bortles has drastically better stats than Kessler last year though. From QBR, touchdowns, yards per game, yards per completion, rushing yards, etc. Literally every stat. The point wasn’t that Bortles had some great season and didn’t warrant being benched. The point was there are bigger issues with the Jags that any one player. The backup QB is always the most popular player on the field, but sometimes there is no QB that can succeed in that situation.
A lot of his stats came in the first 5 weeks though. He seemed to go downhill pretty fast after a 3-1 start. He threw for 300+ yards 3 out of the first 5 games, but only reached 200 yards twice in the next five, including a loss to the Steelers where he only threw for 104 yards and was sacked 6 times.
And yes, there are certainly bigger issues with the Jags than one player, but that doesn't mean Bortles has shown enough that he should remain the QB. The fact is, that good QBs make players around them better. They obviously cant do it all by themselves, but a good QB would still make his surroundings look better than what they really are. ANd, this isn't a one year thing. These questions have been surrounding Bortles for probably 3 years now. And I think that is important to note, because the Jags have had a pretty good roster recently. This year the o-line had some injuries, but it isn't as if Bortles was playing with a bad roster his entire career.
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Agreed! The Jags need a consistent coaching staff, a good OLine, a couple of decent Backs to run the ball, and 2-3 Wide Outs that can catch. Bortles needed a consistent system to play in rather than a new OC and Playbook every year. The problem is that the Jags just won’t do what it takes to be an elite team. They will get the coaches but skimp on players, get players to skimp on staff. It just makes you shake your head.
When he was in the draft all I could think about was, “No Jax, No Cleveland!” When Jax selected him I was sure his career was done after 3 years and he would be hurt.
I don't think this is true, and I say this has a Titans fan who doesn't like to see the Jags do well. But, they were a half of football away from going to the SB last year, and their passing game was really the only question mark on the team. They had a lot of talent on their roster overall.
So Cody Kessler, a guy who had basically no success in the NFL before coming to Jacksonville coming in and not having success when taking over for Bortles is proof that no QB could be had success for the Jags this year?
I've used all the excuses for Bortles, but end of the day he had 5 years. Even in that one great year for the Jags I think the nicest thing you can say about him is he had moments of brilliance followed up by complete ineptitude. It's time for a change. Both he and the Jags need it.
I think that it’s pretty safe to say at this point Blake Bortles isn’t going to be a great QB in this league. Most likely a journeyman backup for years to come hopefully
In the end, he will make many millions of dollars. Most people never get to the point of what he has achieved both as a sports figure and financially
That alone ultimately makes the Blake Bortles story a very good one IMO, no matter what happens from here on out.
If he’ll settle for vet minimum he has job security. If I were him I would and parley it into a Foles type situation.
Bortles home up for sale:
https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/blake-bortles-selling-beachfront-home/
https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/blake-bortles-selling-beachfront-home/
Smart of him to not pay too much for a house. Retirement for football comes faster than most Americans so I hope he has stretched the money he has to last the rest of his life.
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