Blake Bortles Signs With The L.A. Rams, Ready To Be The Backup Quarterback For Jared Goff

By Jordan Long

The L.A. Rams found their backup quarterback for starter Jared Goff, Blake Bortles.  He agreed to a 1-year deal.  This gives them another quarterback with NFL experience on the roster.

                Bortles spent the past 5 seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars as the starter.  His record was an unimpressive 24-49.  Jacksonville had one playoff appearance with him in 2017.  That year they went all the way to the AFC Championship game, only to be knocked off by the New England Patriots

In his time in Jacksonville Bortles passed for 17,646 yards with 103 touchdowns.  His problem in Jacksonville was turnovers.  Bortles forced passes into double or triple coverage.  Those were easily intercepted by the defense, killing Jaguars’ drives.  Bortles tossed 75 interceptions.  He also didn’t protect the football when defenses blitzed him.  Defenders would knock the football out of his hands for fumbles with a total of 29.

                Jacksonville decided it was time to move on because Bortles wasn’t the quarterback to bring Jacksonville a Super Bowl title.  They agreed to a contract with free agent quarterback Nick Foles to be the starter in 2019.  The Jaguars to cut Bortles, allowing him to be a free agent to sign with any team.

There were two other teams besides the Rams interested in adding Bortles, the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens.  In the end Bortles went to the Rams.

                The Rams only other quarterback on the roster prior to Bortles was Brandon Allen.  Allen has yet to play a meaningful down in the NFL since being drafted in 2016.  That wasn’t going to cut it if Goff was hurt.

The Rams don’t need to worry about their backup quarterback position any more.  Bortles   brings plenty of NFL knowledge to the Rams.  He will be able to command the offense if he is called upon.   Bortles can also help Goff in games to let him know what he is seeing by reading the defense and helping Goff march the Rams down the field on the next possession.  This knowledge may benefit Goff to add more points on the scoreboard. It is a smart move by the Rams to add Bortles to the roster.