Blake Bortles retires

Former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles announced his retirement from the NFL on the Pardon My Take podcast, saying that he quietly retired a month ago. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft had not been with a team since April, when he was waived by the New Orleans Saints.

Following a 2017 NFL season that had the Jaguars on the door step of the Super Bowl, the team gave Bortles a new deal in the hopes that the light had finally come on. Despite a quick start to the 2018 season, the wheels seemed to come off against the Kansas City Chiefs and never got right thanks to massive injury hits on the offensive side of the ball.

He was benched mid-season in favor of Cody Kessler, who didn’t fare any better, and it became clear the Jaguars were going to be moving on.

Bortles was given one last start in the final game of the season and (predictably) it ended in disaster. He finished the 2018 season with 13 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions, more in line with what his numbers had been through his career outside of 2015.

No. 5 in your programs. No. 1 in your hearts.