JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Quarterback Blake Bortles understands why there are questions about his viability as the Jacksonville Jaguars' starting quarterback and said he's ready to compete for the starting job next season if he has to.
That might be the case depending on whom the Jaguars hire as their next head coach. General manager Dave Caldwell said he would not mandate that the new coach stick with Bortles, whom the team drafted third overall in 2014.
"I totally get that," Bortles told ESPN. "You can't designate who a guy has to play at quarterback as a head coach. Dave was the GM that drafted me. The head coach that drafted me is now gone, so whoever the new head coach is, I totally understand that he's going to play at quarterback who he wants to play at quarterback and I have no problem with that.
"I understand that. I think it's the right thing to do. That's part of why I'm going out and getting ready to have my best offseason so I'm ready to come in to compete for a job if it comes [to] that."
Bortles set single-season franchise records in passing yards (4,428) and passing touchdowns (35) in 2015 but dropped off significantly in 2016. He completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 3,905 yards and 23 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. He threw 15 interceptions -- including three returned for touchdowns to give him 11 in his career -- in the first 12 games but threw only one interception in the final four.
Bortles struggled with his lower-body mechanics and also dealt with a Grade 1 sprained AC joint in his right (throwing) shoulder and tendinitis in his right wrist. The Jaguars, who finished 3-13, also fired offensive coordinator Greg Olson after seven games.