3 Most disappointing Jacksonville Jaguars of Doug Marrone era
player. 52. . . . Blake Bortles, quarterback. 1
The Jacksonville Jaguars won in spite of Blake Bortles, not because of him.
Doug Marrone inherited quarterback Blake Bortles, but he took too long to pull the plug on him. While the Jaguars made the AFC Championship with the 2014 former overall pick at the helm, they did so in spite of him. The UFC product had no problem racking up yards and touchdowns, but he failed to win any meaningful games.
His 35 touchdowns in 2015 look amazing until you put them in context. That year, the Jaguars played from behind often, and in an effort to catch up they threw the ball often, which helped Bortles have good numbers. Nevertheless, those stats didn’t translate into too many wins and the team finished the season with a 5-11 record.
Bortles finished the 2017 season with a serviceable 3,687 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, but instead of upgrading the quarterback position, the ‘Jags’ doubled down on Bortles by giving him a three-year $54 deal in 2018. By the time the team realized its mistake, it was too late. The team’s brass tried some bandaid solutions that didn’t do much to fix the situation, so they have to take the ‘L’ and release the quarterback just one year after handing him the contract extension.
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Looking back, keeping Bortles was the kind of decision that contributed to Marrone’s and Caldwell’s downfall. Now that they are out of the way, the team can start the rebuilding process and draft a true franchise quarterback, maybe one that played at Clemson and just declared for the 2021 NFL Draft.