Blake Bortles has found his way back to the NFL after not being signed this past offseason. The Denver Broncos needed a QB after starter Drew Lock went down with a shoulder injury on Sunday.
Lock will miss 3-5 weeks, thus giving Bortles his ticket back to the league. Bortles, the third overall pick in the 2014 draft, spent the first five years of high career with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being released. Jacksonville proceeded to sign Nick Foles and draft Gardner Minshew.
Bortles the Jacksonville Years
Bortle’s years in Jacksonville were less than ideal. While he flopped on offense, the defense kept the Jaguars in games. Known as Sacksonville, Jacksonville made it all the way to the 2017 AFC Championship, where they would lose to the Patriots.
Bortles notoriously couldn’t muster a consistent offense while having players like Leanord Fournette, Allen Robinson, and Allen Hurns. Speaking of Allen Robinson, he went from Bortles to Mitch Trubisky. Talk about having it rough. After the loss, Bortles continued to regress, and two years later found himself on the free agent list. The Los Angeles Rams were the last team to have Bortles on a roster serving as a backup for Jared Goff.
Denver Has Been Hit by The Injury Bug
The Denver Broncos are now the latest team to give Bortles a shot, as he can serve his role and hold the fort down till Lock returns. He won’t be slinging the ball all over the field, but he’ll do the job. The Broncos have plenty of other issues besides the QB position, with Von Miller and Cortland Sutton out for the year, and Phillip Lindsay out for a while. The Broncos season has shifted to developing the young players they have. Jerry Jeudy, KJ Hamler, and Tyrie Cleveland will see a boost in work alongside a young emerging tight end in Noah Fant.
Fantasy News
The signing of Bortles could bode well, especially for Jeudy, Fant, and Melvin Gordon. Having an NFL veteran at QB will add some maturity and experience to a very young offense. As for Blake Bortles as a fantasy option this week, stash him if your team is hurting at QB.
