Blake Bortles is back in the news and it’s not because there’s a The Good Place reunion special in the works.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback has been making the rounds as a backup for the last few years, bouncing between the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and New Orleans Saints. While he didn’t see any playing time with the Saints last season, he did sign a reserve/future contract with them in January.
However, that was before the team re-signed Jameis Winston to a big deal and brought in Andy Dalton to back him up. That essentially left Bortles without much room to ever play, if he even makes the cut. So, he’s asked the Saints for his release and that has been granted.
Blake Bortles asked for and will receive his release from the Saints today after their signing of Andy Dalton, per league source. At the age of 29, with 73 starts and 103 TD passes on his resume, Bortles is looking for a better opportunity to be a No. 2 quarterback elsewhere.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 5, 2022
“Blake Bortles asked for and will receive his release from the Saints today after their signing of Andy Dalton, per league source,” wrote Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Bortles’ days as a starter and even as a regular contributor are likely over. However, his experience does make him a very solid pick to be a backup quarterback and presumably, he’ll have the chance to get a better opportunity than what he would have gotten deep on the Saints roster this season.
A five-year starter for the Jaguars, Bortles has a 24-49 record and has thrown for 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions. He is and perhaps will always be best known as the favorite player of Jason Mendoza, a goofball character from Jacksonville on The Good Place.
Seeing Bortles’ name back in the news certainly kicked up some interesting reactions around the NFL world. Many were calling for him to come back to the Jaguars for some reason. Others noted that Bortles played for Denver head coach Nate Hackett while he was OC at Green Bay.
Still wild that the Blake Bortles led Jaguars were up 10 on the Patriots in the 4th quarter of the 2017 AFC Championship game
That’s wasn’t that long ago https://t.co/q9gJfNDnfk
— Yianni Kourakis (@WPBF_Yianni) April 5, 2022
Is anyone else as surprised as I am that Blake Bortles is ONLY 29 years old? It feels like he's been in the league for a lot longer. If this tweet said he was 37, I wouldn't have questioned it. https://t.co/UU0DUsiqKw
— Bryan Perez (@BryanPerezNFL) April 5, 2022
Did anyone else know that Bortles was on the Saints…? https://t.co/lce98PC6i5
— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) April 5, 2022
Bring him home ⛵️ https://t.co/6UCv6sHJaF
— 904andMore (@904andmore) April 5, 2022
You know what to do @Jaguars https://t.co/30iY4LZAhx
— Clownie McJagsfan (@Aska_Swaggoner) April 5, 2022
#Broncos. Hackett. Makes Too Much Sense. https://t.co/shR5b6dukE
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) April 5, 2022