The Jaguars say goodbye to quarterback Blake Bortles as they get ready to usher in the Nick Foles era. The team also re-signs offensive guard A. J. Cann while former Jaguars wide receiver Donte Moncrief appears to be heading to Pittsburgh.
The Jacksonville Jaguars announced on Wednesday they released quarterback Blake Bortles after five seasons with the team. The move is not surprising since the Jaguars will introduce newly signed quarterback, and former Super Bowl MVP, Nick Foles on Thursday afternoon.
Bortles, out of the University of Central Florida, had a roller coaster career with the Jaguars after becoming the No. 3 overall pick by the team in the 2014 NFL draft. He was 24-49 as a starter for Jacksonville. He led the Jaguars to the 2017 AFC Championship game against the Patriots, but the team lost a heart breaker in Foxboro, MA. Despite that disappointment, the Jaguars extended Bortles’ contract in February of 2018. The three-year deal was worth $54 million according to Spotrac.com and included a $15 million signing bonus, $26.5 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $18 million.
Last season there were high hopes for the defending AFC South Champions to see postseason action once again. However after an encouraging 3-1 start, Bortles and company lost seven games in a row and could not get back into the win column until the month of December. Bortles would be benched. It was a rut the team could never recover from and 2018 would go down in Jaguars’ history as one of the most dismal times in Duval.
In 2019, also according to Spotrac.com, Bortles was due to earn a base salary of $14 million. On March 19th he would have earned a roster bonus of $1 million dollars.
