As the Jaguars and Buccaneers prepared to square off in Week Two of the preseason, new Jacksonville executive V.P. of football operations Tom Coughlin was interviewed by Lisa Salters of ESPN. He was asked about the quarterback Coughlin inherited, Blake Bortles.
“He’s athletic, he has ability,” Coughlin said. “He’s got to establish himself with consistency, production on a day-in and day-out basis. Stay away from the turnovers, have the ability if a turnover occurs, shut it down and stop it from there.”
It wasn’t a turnover but an overthrow that raised eyebrows this week for Bortles, with the errant throw prompting choice words from receiver Allen Robinson to be captured by a nearby microphone. As one source explained it to PFT, the incident came with a bit of irony because Bortles was having one of his best practices of camp when the overthrow happened.
However it all plays out, the Jaguars surely will be keeping close tabs on whether Bortles shows the kind of improvement the team expects. If/when the Buccaneers that he’s not the guy for 2018 or beyond, look for the Jaguars to shut him down in order to avoid the kind of sprain, tear, or break that would result in his 2018 injury-guaranteed salary of more than $19 million from becoming fully guaranteed.