Following their Week 12 loss to the Buffalo Bills and firing of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hacket, the Jacksonville Jaguars are now benching quarterback Blake Bortles and needed to do so.
Well, 2018 certainly hasn't gone according to plan for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And merely hours after the franchise fired offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, following the Jags' 24-21 Week 12 loss to the Buffalo Bills, head coach Doug Marrone is making another sweeping change.
This time, he's benching quarterback Blake Bortles in favor of Cody Kessler. News of the switch was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Marrone had little choice but to go this route. Despite being tabbed as a possible AFC representative in the Super Bowl this season, the Jaguars have stumbled a 3-8 record and are riding a seven-game losing streak. Some may argue not even Marrone's job is safe, perhaps pointing at Hackett's firing as a last-ditch attempt to save face amid a scuffling offense.
Bortles has been equally problematic. His 60.4 completion percentage and 81.9 passer rating both rank 30th among all qualifying starters. And while there's plenty of blame to go around Jacksonville's struggles this year, Bortles going 12-of-23 with one touchdown against two interceptions against Buffalo was simply too much to swallow.
Marrone made a similar switch back in Week 7 against the Houston Texans, removing Bortles and handing the quarterbacking duties over to Kessler. Only that move was intended to light a spark for the Jaguars offense. Bortles resumed starting duties the following week.
There's no way Bortles can assume the same, barring injury to Kessler.
Considering their awful record, the Jaguars are now vying for NFL Draft positioning come April. Along with the New York Giants, Jacksonville is one of a handful of top-10 drafting teams likely in the market for a new quarterback. But with a limited number of quality prospective signal-callers available early, the Jags' options are going to be limited.
This isn't to say Kessler gives the Jaguars a better chance at losing. Instead, it's an admission by the franchise they know what they have in Bortles. And yet, many would argue the Jaguars should have moved on from the quarterback well before this National Football League season even began.
What's going to make this more painful for Jacksonville is the knowledge it signed Bortles to a three-year, $54 million contract earlier this February. His $16.5 million in 2019 dead money is going to be almost impossible to move, meaning Bortles will likely be on the roster next year too. Kessler certainly isn't the long-term answer. But even with Bortles aboard, the Jaguars are going to have to go back to the proverbial drawing board to find another viable option.
That doesn't matter to Marrone right now. If anything, Bortles' benching and Hackett's firing were the two options the head coach could have pursued amid a lost season. He did so, and by executing these options, Marrone can at least take some comfort knowing he tried.
Considering how things have gone for Jacksonville this season, it's about all he can do.
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