Former Jaguars QB Blake Bortles signs with Rams

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Blake Bortles is going from the First Coast to the left coast. 

The former Jaguars quarterback, released last week after the team signed Nick Foles, agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night. He will serve as a backup to starter Jared Goff, who led the Rams to the Super Bowl last season. Terms of the deal were not announced. 

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The BOAT, the acronym Bortles earned with the Jaguars (Best Of All Time), is now sailing west. 

Bortles was Jacksonville’s first-round draft pick in 2014, but never materialized into the franchise quarterback the team envisioned when it selected him No. 3 overall. Bortles was 24-49 as a starter. 

He finished second in franchise history to Mark Brunell in passing yardage (17,646) and touchdown passes (103) and took the Jaguars to the AFC championship game in 2017. Jacksonville signed Bortles to a three-year, $54 million extension after that season, but it proved a misguided decision. 

Bortles regressed and the Jaguars languished on the offensive side of the ball, winding up with a 5-11 season. That led the team to eat he guaranteed money in Bortles' contract. He leaves $16.5 million in dead money on the Jaguars' 2019 salary cap, according to Spotrac.

The Rams now employ two of the Jaguars' biggest draft whiffs, both former No. 3 selections in Bortles and defensive end Dante Fowler. The Jaguars dealt Fowler last season to the Rams for a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 fifth-rounder. 


About the Author:

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.