Bortles announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.
Bortles has decided to hang his cleats up after being selected third overall in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Jaguars. He'll finish his career with 17,649 passing yards, 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions over 78 games with the Jaguars and Rams. He spent the final few years of his career on and off of practice squads including with the Packers and Saints.
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Saints' Blake Bortles: Sticking with New Orleans
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The Saints signed Bortles to a reserve/future contract Tuesday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.
Bortles spent the final few weeks of the regular season on the Saints' practice squad and landed on the COVID-19 list ahead of Week 18. The 29-year-old didn't appear in any regular-season games during the 2021 campaign but will remain with the Saints heading into the offseason.
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Blake Bortles: Back from COVID-19 list
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Bortles (undisclosed) was restored to the Saints' practice squad from the practice squad COVID-19 list Monday, Katherine Terrell of The Athletic reports.
Bortles landed on the practice squad COVID-19 list Jan. 6 and was ineligible to be elevated for Sunday's season finale against Atlanta as a result. Though he spent time with both Green Bay and New Orleans in 2022, he did not record any stats.
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Blake Bortles: Placed on Saints' COVID list
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Bortles (undisclosed) was placed on the Saints' practice squad COVID-19 list Thursday, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports.
The 29-year-old will now have to go through league protocols before returning to the team in the coming days. Bortles has almost the entirety of the 2021 season on a practice squad, only cracking the active rosters of the Packer and Saints for a pair of games but not seeing action in either.
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Blake Bortles: Returns to practice squad
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Bortles reverted to the Saints' practice squad Tuesday, per the NFL's transaction log.
Bortles was a gameday elevation for Monday Night Football and didn't see the field while serving as the No. 2 quarterback behind Ian Book. It's the second time this season Bortles has been active as the backup quarterback without seeing the field.
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Blake Bortles: Released from GB's practice squad
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Bortles was released from the Packers' practice squad Monday.
Fellow quarterback Kurt Benkert returned from the reserve/COVID-19 list, which spelled the end of Bortles' tenure on Green Bay's practice squad. Bortles' 78 games of NFL experience should help him land a practice squad spot elsewhere before long.
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Packers' Blake Bortles: Bumped up from practice squad
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Bortles was elevated from the practice squad Saturday to the active roster.
Bortles had just re-signed with the Packers on Nov. 3 after taking part in their offseason program when Aaron Rodgers was away from the team. With Rodgers away again due to being on the COVID-19 list, as well as Kurt Benkert, who is on the practice squad COVID-19 list, the Packers were down to just Jordan Love as their only healthy quarterback. The activation of Bortles to the main roster means he's likely to back up Love on Sunday against the Chiefs.
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Packers' Blake Bortles: Joins Packers as workouts approach
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Bortles agreed to a one-year contract with the Packers on Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
Prior to Bortles' signing, Jordan Love was the only quarterback slated to attend the start of in-person workouts April 17, so the 29-year-old's presence fills a clear need for depth at the position. The ongoing saga of Aaron Rodgers' disgruntlement with management will ultimately determine Bortles' chances of making the Packers' Week 1 roster in a backup capacity.
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Blake Bortles: Potential return to Rams
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Bortles is being targeted as a possible backup for the Rams this weekend according to head coach Sean McVay, Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com reports.
Bortles spent time with the Broncos earlier this season, bouncing between the active roster and practice squad for several weeks. Now with Jared Goff (thumb) ruled out, the Rams may look to bring in the veteran, who spent the 2019 campaign in Los Angeles. Currently, the only other quarterback on the Rams' active roster is John Wolford.
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Blake Bortles: Passes COVID-19 protocols
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Bortles was restored from the practice squad COVID-19 list Tuesday, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.
Drew Lock and Brett Rypien also were activated from the list. Bortles continues to reside on the practice squad. He has a slim chance of handling any meaningful snaps with the Broncos behind Lock, Rypien and Jeff Driskel (illness) on the organizational depth chart.
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Blake Bortles: Lands on practice squad
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The Broncos signed Bortles to the practice squad Monday, Troy Renck of Denver 7 News reports.
Bortles was released by the Broncos on Saturday, but he'll stick around as a scout team quarterback. The Broncos will push forward with Drew Lock as their starting quarterback, Brett Rypien as the backup and Jeff Driskel as the No. 3 option. If any of the three get hurt, Bortles likely will get called up again.
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Broncos' Blake Bortles: Inactive for TNF
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Bortles (coach's decision) is inactive for Thursday's game against the Jets, Aric DiLalla of the Broncos' official site reports.
Bortles is a healthy scratch for the second straight week, as it doesn't seem he's yet managed to acclimate to Denver's offensive scheme. The Broncos will roll with Brett Rypien under center to begin Thursday's contest, with Jeff Driskel available as the backup.
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Broncos' Blake Bortles: Healthy scratch Week 3
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Bortles (coach's decision) is inactive for Sunday's Week 3 tilt against the Buccaneers.
The veteran just signed Tuesday after Drew Lock suffered a Week 2 shoulder injury that's projected to keep him out several games. However, with only three practice sessions in coordinator Pat Shurmur's offense under his belt, Bortles isn't yet ready to serve as interim starter Jeff Driskel's primary backup, a role that will be filled by Brett Rypien in Week 3.
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Rams' Blake Bortles: Seems minimal time in 2019
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Bortles completed one of two passes for three yards and rushed twice for minus-9 yards while appearing in three games during the 2019 season.
The 27-year-old signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Rams in the spring knowing that he would be in line for a backup job behind Jared Goff, and Bortles stayed in that role all season since Goff didn't miss a game. Bortles is set to hit free agency again in March and essentially finds himself in the same position as he was after being let go by the Jaguars last year. He shouldn't have a problem securing a contract for the 2020 campaign, but he's unlikely to be viewed as much more than a high-end backup.
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Rams' Blake Bortles: Tosses two passes in blowout win
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Bortles completed one of his two pass attempts for three yards during Sunday's 34-7 win over Arizona. He played seven snaps in relief of starting quarterback Jared Goff once the game was out of reach for the Cardinals.
While this was the third time Bortles has seen the field this season, Sunday's two throws were his first of the campaign. He's locked into a backup role, and as long as Goff is healthy, Bortles is nothing more than a speculative stash in two-quarterback settings.
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Jaguars' Blake Bortles: Still in mix for Jags
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General manager Dave Caldwell said Bortles is still in the mix at quarterback for the Jaguars, Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
The Jaguars surely regret signing Bortles to a three-year, $54 million contract last offseason, especially given that the deal guarantees nearly half of his $14 million base salary for 2019, per overthecap.com. The team can still free up $9.5 million in cap space if the 27-year-old quarterback is designated as a post-June 1 release, so the structure of the contract won't necessarily keep him on the roster for 2019. Even if Bortles sticks around, the Jaguars figure to invest significant resources -- be it money or an early draft pick -- in the search for an upgrade at quarterback.
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Jaguars' Blake Bortles: Ends season on low note
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Bortles completed 15 of 28 passes for 107 yards and an interception and added 15 yards on seven carries during Sunday's 20-3 loss to Houston.
If this was Bortles' last start for Jacksonville, he certainly made it easy for fans to let him go. The fifth-year passer meandered for most of the game before launching an ugly desperation pick into the end zone in the game's closing minutes with the Jaguars down by three scores. Bortles hasn't topped 130 passing yards in a game since Week 10 and has spent about half of that time benched. He might not get the opportunity to throw a pass for the Jaguars again.
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Jaguars' Blake Bortles: May get Week 17 start
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Multiple Jaguars players suggested Wednesday that Bortles would serve as the team's starting quarterback this weekend in the season finale against the Texans, Mark Long of the Associated Press reports.
Coach Doug Marrone will likely address the team's quarterback situation later Wednesday, but Bortles might have earned himself another look in the No. 1 role after shining in relief of Cody Kessler in the Week 16 upset win over the Dolphins. While Kessler tended to a shoulder issue that resulted in his removal on two occasions in Sunday's contest, Bortles stepped in to complete five of his six throws for 39 yards while adding another 25 yards on four carries. If Bortles does in fact earn the Week 17 start, the Jaguars would likely still favor a run-heavy game plan that would limit the signal-caller's overall fantasy upside. Even with a strong showing to wrap up the campaign, Bortles seems unlikely to enter 2019 as the Jaguars' top option behind center, with the organization instead expected to explore external options via trade, free agency or the draft this offseason.
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Jaguars' Blake Bortles: Headed to reserve role
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Coach Doug Marrone announced Monday that Bortles will serve as the backup to Cody Kessler for the Jaguars' Week 13 game against the Colts, Field Yates of ESPN reports.
The wheels are coming off in Jacksonville -- losers of seven straight -- and changes will come at both quarterback and offensive coordinator, as the team fired Nathaniel Hackett on Monday. Bortles completed just 12 of 23 passes for 127 yards with one touchdown and two picks in Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Bills and threw for only 104 yards the week prior. A first-round pick of the Jaguars who re-signed with the team on a three-year deal in February, Bortles' future with the only organization he's known is now in major question. Jacksonville will see if Kessler can provide a spark down the stretch and allow the team to end the season on a high note.
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Jaguars' Blake Bortles: Throws two picks in loss
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Bortles completed 12 of 23 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions during Sunday's 24-21 loss to Buffalo. He added 39 yards on six carries.
Bortles slung a 13-yard dart to Dede Westbrook for his first passing touchdown in two weeks in the closing moments of the fourth quarter. However, it was literally too little too late, as the Bills recovered the ensuing kick and the game was over. Bortles continues to look like the weak link in Jacksonville, as he has failed to reach 150 yards passing in four of his last six games, tossing just five touchdowns during that span. True, Bortles can get it done with his legs, but he's scored just one rushing touchdown -- back in Week 5 -- all season. He's faced some stingy defenses in recent weeks, but he'll get a middle-of-the-road test against Indianapolis next Sunday if he remains in the starting lineup.
