Blake Bortles Sheds Weight, Leaner and Meaner

Blake Bortles is trimming the fat after a rookie season that saw him sacked a league high 55 times.

The young quarterback has been working out in California to hone his throwing motion and his footwork, but taking his body into consideration is also important.

The quarterback has dropped 12 pounds already. At 250 pounds in 2014 he wasn’t a Jamarcus Russell sized quarterback, but by my count he was the heaviest quarterback on the field. Only Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger came close.

Now at 238, we’ll see a more lithe quarterback, more in line with the league norm. Hopefully it helps him avoid some sacks and hopefully those sacks he does take don’t end up causing harm.

Bortles was so big that Julius Thomas said, “I walked up to him, and I was like, ‘There must be another tight end out here warming up his shoulder.'” The new Jaguars tight end is listed at 251, just a pound heavier than Bortles’ 2014 weight.

I’ve stated it before, but it is important to re-emphasize how professionally Bortles is approaching his position as quarterback and the game as a whole. He continues to find ways to improve and during his first full NFL offseason he is doing what he can to make sure he gets better.

Hopefully a leaner quarterback leads to better production on offense. Getting new weapons like Julius Thomas won’t hurt, either. The Jaguars need to improve in all offensive aspects and if Bortles can make the passing game a strength for the first time in years then the Jags could be in solid shape through the 2015 season. Right now winning seven games would be a big step forward and while optimism abounds (as it should) the team is going to face challenging games during 2015.

Blake Bortles’ emphasis on getting better from his footwork to his technique to his weight will do wonders for the team.

Next: Predicting Every 2015 Jaguars Game

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