Blake Bortles

At 32 years old, Blake Bortles has this physical status:

Robby Blake Bortles (born April 28, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round (third overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft. Bortles' tenure in Jacksonville featured ups and downs, including setting team records for passing yards and touchdowns in a single season in 2015, and also leading the Jaguars to their first AFC Conference Championship game appearance since 1999, where they lost to the New England Patriots.

However, Bortles also proved to be turnover-prone, leading the league in interceptions thrown (18) in 2015 and to a league-high 75 between 2014 and 2018.

He was released by the Jaguars just one year into a $54 million contract extension, and signed with the Rams in the offseason.

Early years

Bortles attended Oviedo High School in Oviedo, Florida, where he excelled in football and baseball for the Lions. As a senior, he completed 151 of 233 passes for 2,211 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He finished his high school career with a Seminole County record 5,576 career passing yards and 53 touchdowns.

Labeled a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Bortles was listed as the No. 44 pro-style quarterback in his class. Bortles chose UCF over offers from Colorado State, Purdue, Tulane, and Western Kentucky.

Personal life

Bortles is the son of Rob and Suzy Bortles. Rob was a wrestler and football player in high school; Suzy played high school softball. Bortles' brother, Colby, was a third baseman with the Ole Miss baseball team, and was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Colby now coaches baseball at Charleston Southern University.

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College career

Bortles accepted a scholarship from UCF, the first college to give him a scholarship and was located near his house. In 2010, he was redshirted as a true freshman. He played in ten games as a redshirt freshman in 2011, totaling 75% of 110 passes for 958 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. He started all 14 games at quarterback as a sophomore in 2012. He finished 251 of 399 passes for 3,059 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 285 yards and scored eight touchdowns. After finishing 22 of 32 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and 79 rushing yards against the Ball State Cardinals, he was the MVP of the 2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.

Bortles led the Knights to the inaugural championship of the American Athletic Conference in 2013, earning the league's first berth to a BCS bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Bortles led UCF to an upset of fifth-ranked Baylor, 52-42, after passing for 301 yards and rushing for 93 yards and four touchdowns. Bortles was named the Offensive MVP of the game, which was UCF's first major bowl victory in school history. He was 259-of-382 for 3,581 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in his last collegiate season. He had 87 rushes for 272 yards and six rushing touchdowns.

Bortles had a 22–5 (.815) record for the Knights as a starter from the 2012 to 2013 seasons. His career passer rating of 153.9 is the highest for any UCF quarterback with at least 500 passes, and he was fourth in career completions, yards, and touchdowns behind Daunte Culpepper, Ryan Schneider, and Darin Hinshaw.

Professional career

Bortles announced on January 5, 2014 that he would forego his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

Bortles was selected in the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars on May 8, 2014, as the third overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bortles was the first of an eventual 14 quarterbacks to be drafted.

Bortles re-signed his rookie deal with a four-year deal on June 18, 2014.

Bortles made his NFL debut in Week 3 when he came in relief of Chad Henne in the second half of a 44–17 blowout loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He went on to finish 14 of 24 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Bortles was the starter going forward in Gus Bradley's game. Bortles made his first NFL appearance against the San Diego Chargers in the next game. In a 33-34 road loss, he finished the game 29-of-37 for 253 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. His 78.4 percent completion rate set a record for a rookie quarterback's first start. He passed for 336 yards on 32-of-46 passes (three franchise rookie records), but the Jaguars lost 14–16 due to a blocked field goal. Bortles threw for 194 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions, as well as 68 passing yards in the Jaguars' first comeback victory in franchise history. After losing by 21 points, the boys barely won 25–24. He led the Jaguars to a 21–13 victory over the Titans on Thursday Night Football. Along with 50 passing yards, he completed 13 of 26 passes for a touchdown and no interceptions.

Bortles established himself as a dual-threat quarterback in his rookie season by rushing for 20 or more yards seven times in 2014, second only to Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. However, he also played for the NFL and set franchise records for 345 yards lost, as well as a 3–10 record as a starter.

Bortles, who had a good preseason in his second year, started the 2015 season with a touchdown and two interceptions. He led the Jaguars on a comeback victory over the Miami Dolphins in the season's first game. Bortles had 273 yards and two touchdowns without interceptions. Bortles threw for a then-career-high four touchdowns for 303 yards and 21 rushing yards on Week 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, this was not enough, as the Jaguars lost 38–31. In a 42-39 road loss to the Tennessee Titans, he tied for the first time in single game play with five touchdown passes.

Bortles led the way in sacks taken (51) and interceptions (18) in 2015, with a 5–11 record. However, the season was also a success for the second-year quarterback in several respects. Bortles set the Jaguars single-season franchise record for passing touchdowns (35), passing yards (4,428), pass completions (355), and pass attempts (606). Allen Robinson's 90-yard touchdown pass in Week 16 was the longest in the NFL this year. In the Jaguars' first 15 games of 2015, he was over 80 percent in eleven games, and he threw a touchdown pass, a franchise record. After throwing no touchdowns in the regular season finale, he and Eli Manning, Cam Newton, and Carson Palmer shared second place, behind only Tom Brady's 36. With 4,428, he came in seventh in the NFL in passing yards, behind Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Brady, Palmer, Matt Ryan, and Manning. On the 2016 NFL Top 100 Players, he ranked 56th by his peers.

Despite the company's high turnover, Bortles managed to post a disappointing 3–13 record for the 2016 Jaguars. During a nine-game losing streak, offensive coordinator Greg Olson was recalled by Nathaniel Hackett in Week 8 and head coach Gus Bradley by Doug Marrone in Week 16. Bortles' first career reception was caught on a 20-yard trick play that resulted in a victory over the Tennessee Titans on Christmas Eve 38-17. It was his first game with a passer rating over 100 in 2016 (compared to five in 2015).

Bortles finished the 2016 season with 3,905 yards passing and a 58.9% completion rate, 23 touchdown passes, 16 interceptions (forth in the NFL), but only 34 sacks and five 300+ yard games (7th in the NFL). He suffered from a Grade 1 right AC joint sprain in Week 8, and wrist tendinitis in the second half of the season, which could account for his decline.

The Jaguars selected Bortles' contract as the fifth-year option on May 1, 2017.

After a match with Chad Henne on August 26, he was dubbed the starting quarterback for the regular season.

Bortles was very inconsistent in the first 11 games of the season. In a 43-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in London, he had a great Week 3 with four passing touchdowns and no interceptions for a 128.2 rating. For a 124.7 rating against the Indianapolis Colts, he passed 300 yards only once in Week 7. Bortles averaged 185.6 yards per game, no games of 300+ yards or 100+ rating, and had seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in those nine games, excluding these games. Bortles was 17th in yardage and touchdowns through 12 weeks, out of the 2011-game starters, and 18th in rating. However, he had a 100+ rating in three straight games, compiling 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, as well as 300+ yards in three of the next four games.

Bortles led the Jaguars to victory, 45–7, helping the team clinch their first playoff appearance in ten years as the team defeated the Houston Texans in Week 15. Bortles completed with a season-best 382 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and three interceptions in the Jaguars' next game against the San Francisco 49ers. Despite the loss, the Jaguars clinched the AFC South after losing to the Los Angeles Rams. Bortles finished the regular season with 3,687 passing yards, 21 touchdowns to 13 interceptions, and an 84.7 quarterback rating (21st of 35 players with at least 200 attempts).

The Jaguars made the playoffs as the No. 1 after finishing 10–6. In the 2017 AFC Playoffs, the three seed were ranked 3 seeds. In Bortles' first playoff game, the Jaguars defeated the Buffalo Bills by a score of 10–3. He had 12 of 23 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. He had a game-high 88 yards on ten carries. Michael Vick (2004) was the only quarterbacks with more passing yards in a postseason game since the 1970 merger, and the 75 net passing yards was the lowest by a winning postseason quarterback since Joe Flacco in the 2009 postseason. Bortles was strongly chastised by analysts and even other players in the league for his poor passing result against the Bills. When confronted with these allegations, Bortles said that he "couldn't care less" and that, "There are people who believe LeBron James sucks, so I'm sure there will always be people who say I suck," even though he didn't care less." Bortles bounced back in the Divisional Round, enabling the Jaguars to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were heavily favored on the road by a score of 45–42. Bortles stifled a Steelers comeback by completing 14 of his 26 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown. This will be Jacksonville's first AFC Championship game appearance since 1999, but they lost by a score of 24–20 after spoiling a 20–10 lead in the fourth quarter. Bortles completed the game with 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown. He made the playoffs with 594 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also ran for 121 yards.

Bortles agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract to remain with the Jaguars through the 2020 season on February 24, 2018.

Bortles and the Jaguars were off to a 3-1 start to the season. In the 31–20 victory, Bortles defeated the New England Patriots in 97-degree heat and finished with 377 passing yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. In Week 4, he passed for 388 yards in a 31-12 victory over the Jets. He also scored a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in the next game. In the 30-14 road loss, however, he threw four interceptions and five sacks. Bortles threw for 149 yards, a touchdown, and an intercept to Jeff Heath in triple coverage for a 40-7 road loss this week. He lost a fumble on the first possessions of each half during Week 7 against the Houston Texans. After losing the second fumble and ending the day with a career-low 61 yards on 12 attempts, Bortles was suspended for Cody Kessler. At the time, the Jaguars had the league's second-best defense but had lost three games in a row; Bortles was tied for second-worst in the league with four sub-200-yard passing games, third-worst with eight interceptions, and seventh-worst with five fumbles;

Nonetheless, head coach Doug Marrone opted to leave Bortles as the starter for the Week 8 match against the Philadelphia Eagles. He fumbled the first snap but finished with 286 yards and a touchdown despite a shoulder injury. In the 18–24 loss, he led the Jaguars on three straight scoring drives late in the game to draw within six points before completing only two of his last nine points. The Jaguars took the Indianapolis Colts to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9 bye. Bortles led the game with 320 yards and two touchdowns. He completed ten of 11 passes for two scoring drives to begin the second half and a drive to the 23-yard line in the 4th quarter before the Colts were able to clock clock and hold a 29–26 victory. Bortles finished ten of 18 passes for a career-fourth-worst 104 yards in a 20-16 loss to the Steelers in the next game. In a 21–24 road loss to the Buffalo Bills, he completed 12 of 23 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown on a touchdown.

Bortles will be suspended in favor of Cody Kessler for the Week 13 match against the Colts, according to Jaguar head coach Doug Marrone. He was now 30th of 34 ranked quarterbacks in terms of completion percentage, quarterback rating, and yards-per-attempt, as well as second-worst to Oakland's Derek Carr with eight losses. Bortles appeared in Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins in the aftermath of a tumultuous Kessler in the late second quarter and was suspended for five yards and rushed four times for 26 yards, leading the Jaguars to a 17–7 victory. Bortles led off the season against the Texans but was ineffective with only 107 yards and an interception on 28 attempts. Bortles' 13 appearances for the Jaguars over the season, he set a new record of completion percentage (60.3%), yards (2,718), touchdowns (213), and 23rd in passer rating (79.8); his 11 interceptions ranked 15th. He had 357 passing yards, ranking him sixth among quarterbacks.

Since the team signed quarterback Nick Foles, Bortles was released by the Jaguars on March 13, 2019. Bortles led the league in interceptions (75 in 75 games, a league-leading 13 of which were returned for touchdowns) and second among quarterbacks (46) in fumbles (46) to Russell Wilson, who was fifth in interceptions (46).

Bortles agreed to be Jared Goff's backup after signing a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on March 18, 2019.

Bortles was down 20 points in the fourth quarter after three snaps of a Week 7 blowout of the Atlanta Falcons. Bortles and his former Jaguars teammate Jalen Ramsey were reunited in a trade that saw Ramsey trade for first round picks in 2020 and 2021, as well as a fourth round pick in 2021. Bortles' second game, a Week 10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, was played in only one play, a third down with two yards to go; the team did not make up the third down conversion. Bortles' third and final appearance of the season came in a week 13 blowout victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Bortles made his first game of the season while driving seven-play on a seven-play drive.

After an injury to starter Drew Lock on September 24, 2020, Bortles was signed by the Denver Broncos. After Lock recovered from his shoulder injury, Bortles was released by the Broncos on October 17, 2020. Bortles was recalled to Denver's practice squad just two days later. Bortles was put on the COVID-19 list on November 28, 2020, after being in close contact with Jeff Driskel, who was positive for the virus. The Broncos suspended Bortles and the other three quarterbacks for violating COVID-19 rules. On December 1, he was called back to the practice squad.

Following an injury to starter Jared Goff, Bortles was signed by the Los Angeles Broncos off the Broncos' practice squad on December 29, 2020.

Bortles agreed to a one-year contract with the Green Bay Packers worth $1 million on May 24, 2021. He was first released in 2021 on July 27, 2021. Bortles was recalled by the Packers practice squad as the backup for Jordan Love in Week 9 after starter Aaron Rodgers was out for Week 9 due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. For a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 6, 2021, he was activated to the active roster. He was released on November 15.

Bortles was drafted by the New Orleans Saints on December 24, 2021, after starting Jameis Winston tore his ACL in week 8. Trevor Siemian, Taysom Hill's backup, and Taysom's backup, COVID-19. Bortles was placed on the Saints COVID-19 protocol list and was inactive for their Week 18 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on January 6th, 2022. On January 12, 2022, he signed a provisional/future deal with the Saints. Bortles, who had been unable to be released from his service after the team's decision to sign Andy Dalton, was waived by the Saints on April 5.

On October 5, 2022, he announced his retirement on the podcast Pardon My Takeover.

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