Extra Points: Bortles, Kap, Rosen, Browns

Blake Bortles has struggled so much this summer that the Jaguars may have to consider benching the quarterback in order to avoid a catastrophic injury that would guarantee his fifth-year option for 2018, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines (Twitter link). Such an injury for Bortles this season would leave the Jags on the hook for upward of $19MM a year from now, which even a healthy version of the 2014 third overall pick hasn’t been worth during his three seasons in the NFL. Keeping Bortles away from the field to prevent any chance of the option triggering wouldn’t be a first in the league – the Redskins did it with Robert Griffin III in 2015.

Meanwhile, in light of Bortles’ second straight lackluster performance of the preseason on Thursday, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets that the Jaguars should bring free agent signal-caller Colin Kaepernick in to take the starting job. While Kaepernick’s social activism makes him a tough sell for many teams’ decision makers and fans, he at least possesses a superior on-field resume to both Bortles and backup Chad Henne.

More from around the game:

  • The NFL may soon have another Kaepernick on its hands in UCLA passer Josh Rosen, a scout told Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. Rosen, a junior, could end up as a first-round pick in next year’s draft, though his outspoken views might cause him to slide down the board, Miller notes. To cite one example, Rosen has openly derided President Donald Trump, who happened to appoint Jets owner Woody Johnson as an ambassador to the United Kingdom. The QB-deficient Jets figure to end up with a high pick in next year’s draft, which could make for an intriguing situation if Rosen draws their interest. UCLA head coach Jim Mora Jr. discussed his unique prospect as a guest Thursday on PFT Live, saying: “I’m never going to stifle his opinions. I just want to make sure he’s aware when he does say things publicly there are going to be ramifications.”
  • There’s a chance the Browns will have to open the season without one of their top players, Danny Shelton. The nose tackle suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for three to six weeks, Field Yates of ESPN reports (on Twitter). Shelton, the 12th pick in 2015, was a full-time starter for Cleveland in each of his first two seasons and posted a breakout 2016, ranking 15th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 125 qualified interior D-linemen. He also piled up 59 tackles, 23 more than he amassed in 2015, and the first 1.5 sacks of his career.
  • Justin Britt‘s three-year, $27MM extension with the Seahawks includes $15MM in injury guarantees and $5MM fully guaranteed at signing, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

View Comments (7)