Blake Bortles has seen enough of Louisiana, and it apparently didn’t take long for him to want out. With the New Orleans Saints inking Jameis Winston to a new deal that most certainly makes him the starting quarterback in 2022, Bortles had hopes of at least competing for the role as backup — against second-year talent Ian Book in the wake of Taysom Hill opting to work on now becoming a tight end. Instead, the Saints decided to sign Andy Dalton to the roster, and Bortles has no interest in competing for a QB3 spot.
On Tuesday the veteran asked for and received his release from the organization. The move puts the former third overall pick into a now-calm ocean of free agency for any team seeking a possible QB2.
Bortles, 29, began his career as the top pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014, helping to lead the team to an AFC Championship appearance and subsequently being awarded a contract extension, but it was short-lived. The wheels began falling off of the Jaguars not long after, and Bortles’ journey around the NFL began. He’d spend time with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019 before an even shorter stay with the Denver Broncos, and then again with the Rams — both in 2020 — and then on to the Green Bay Packers in 2021.
His stay with the Saints has been the most brief of them all, and his career record of 24-49 isn’t the most attractive of the current stable of free agent QBs. But if Bortles can convince another team of what he failed to convince the Saints of, he’ll get another shot at possibly backing up someone’s starter.
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