Rams sign QB Blake Bortles to one year deal

[SteezyEndo]

Exactly where he is today. He’s here for the long haul.

If Bortles shines in preseason or mop up duty, maybe we can leverage that in some way via trade. But, that depends on if he signs and if it’s for more than 1 season.

If we do Bortles the favor of showing the rest of the NFL of his capabilities we could use him as trade bait. Big If though my friend.

 

[Riverumbbq]

To be honest alot of people who have a hard on for Goff should be scared of Bortles being a number 2. God forbid Goff gets injured and Bortles takes over, under someone like McVay where does that leave Goff? Football is a business.

Interesting question.
I like Goff, but the idea of something near $25million per year or more in CAP for a starting QB has me more and more inclined to dislike the direction NFL salaries are taking. This is a team game, I'd like to see the league adopt a system where the top and bottom player salaries aren't quite so huge. Perhaps a 2 stage CAP with the individual teams where starters are paid within one range, back-ups another, but the difference between high & low salary within each CAP stage isn't quite so wide. QB's won't like it, but every other player would.
Under the scenario you offer, with Goff presently entering his 5'th year option salary, I doubt Goff could be traded off easily even with Bortles performing extremely well, although if a young solidly performing QB like Goff had perhaps another year left before his big contract came due, that might make for a different story. As it is today, if Goff were to go down and Bortles performed magnificently in his place, and has a multi-year fairly cheap contract, he could be traded for quite a haul the following season. jmo.

 

[OntarioRam]

Bortles nearly led his team to a Super Bowl. He has sustained success at the NFL level as a starter, albeit with periods of struggles as well. He was very well regarded coming out of college, to the point that he was selected 3rd overall. He has good physical tools - he's big, he can scramble, etc. He's still pretty young. Why would you not want him as a backup QB? He's about as good as you can get at the position IMO. It usually isn't realistic to hold two QBs that are good-to-great starters. It's too much cap commitment at the position given what QBs go for. I'm all on the Bortles bandwagon. No matter what happens, I think he'll be an upgrade on what we currently have in Mannion.

My only concern is how much Bortles will cost. I still view him favourably. He does have warts. But I always thought he'd be out of our price range, even despite those...

 

[ReekofRams]

Yeah but there are no fuckwits in this forum. Social media is cluttered with them.

.

But you have me.

 

[LesBaker]

be developed by McVay

How much time does a head coach spend with a backup quarterback though let's be realistic

 

[den-the-coach]

Blustery day in Upstate, NY after hitting 65 degrees on Friday, lucky to hit 40 degrees on the weekend, but so goes the month of March....So as I sit here enjoying my fine Colombian Beverage I will go into detail what I like about Blake Bortles as I hope the Rams sign him because I do believe there could be some major upside.

1. 6'5 I like big QB's just do maybe because of those years watching Pat Haden..Bortles is the perfect height for me so I like that!
2. He can run and the Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams have truly never had a QB that could run. Haden could I guess, but I could not stand him so he does not count. And although I'm not looking for Michael Vick, I like a QB that has the ability to keep the chains moving with his feet and Bortles has proven he can do that.
3. I love his arm, he can make all the throws and usually does not come up short when throwing the long pass as well, Bortles can flat out toss it a long way.
4. I like that he went to Central Florida, the first School to accept me back in 1984...Still wish they were called the Golden Knights, but anyway, IMO, Bortles put that School on the map and they have been some type of program ever since.
5. I like that he wears 5 even though the Rams have not had much success with that number and my apologies to all Dieter Brock fans. Foles also donned 5, but I always felt was a nice number for a QB.
6. I like that he could make Jared Thomas Goff better, Bortles can make plays and working with the likes of Sean McVay, Shane Waldron and new Assistant QB Coach Zac Robinson, should help Bortles get better, which in turn will provide some competition for Goff, albeit, it's still Jared's team.
7. I like alliteration....Always have so it's hip to B Squared.

So I'm hoping this signing comes to fruition. All of us would have never felt good with Mannion for a number of games, but if the Rams had to turn to Blake Bortles I truly believe they would be fine, plus I'm anxious to see how Bortles would improve under McVay because in Jacksonville, he's not had the best of coaches.

 

[TSFH Fan]

I love his arm, he can make all the throws and usually does not come up short when throwing the long pass as well, Bortles can flat out toss it a long way.

Playing around with airyards.com , BOAT under center on deep balls graphs out pretty good**:

**Sure, there's a sample size issue, but at the very least, it looks like there's something positive in BOAT's game and it looks like there's something for McVay to work with.

Here's Goff, under center, with McVay (2017-2018):

Bortles could get to be good friends with Brandin Cooks

 

[Kevin]

Because Mannion never had the goods. He wasn't even a McVay draft pick. He inherited Mannion from Fisher. McVay is one of the top QB developers in the NFL.

A lot of Jaguar fans will tell you Bortles never had the goods either. So will a lot of football analysts and former players. Mannion was a third round pick and should be better than he is. Some of that has to be on McVay.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Is Bortles ok with just being the backup guy is the question...

I'm sure hed rather start somewhere, but that may not be an option for him this year

 

[Mackeyser]

Well, the Miami job is taken and a year under McVay might double his value or more.

Heck, if he came, he'd get a TON of time in the preseason. If he lights that up, he could potentially earn a contract just from that.

 

[jrry32]

How much time does a head coach spend with a backup quarterback though let's be realistic

Never stopped Andy Reid's backup QBs from developing. It didn't stop Cousins from developing during McVay's first year as OC in Washington. Bortles will be in on all the meetings. And he'll get reps on the practice field. It would be a mistake for McVay to totally ignore a guy who might have to step in if Goff is injured. He won't be a priority for McVay, but he'll get coaching.

A lot of Jaguar fans will tell you Bortles never had the goods either. So will a lot of football analysts and former players. Mannion was a third round pick and should be better than he is. Some of that has to be on McVay.

Nope. Mannion was a massive reach of a third round pick in a QB-weak draft by Jeff Fisher. Bortles may not have the goods to be a franchise QB, but he still had the goods to throw for 35 TDs in a season and put up a couple of decent enough years as a starter.

 

[VegasRam]

A lot of Jaguar fans will tell you Bortles never had the goods either. So will a lot of football analysts and former players. Mannion was a third round pick and should be better than he is. Some of that has to be on McVay.

Love your avatar, and pretty much always agree with you, but Mannion’s not being a legit NFL QB has absolutely NOTHING to do with McVay.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Love your avatar, and pretty much always agree with you, but Mannion’s not being a legit NFL QB has absolutely NOTHING to do with McVay.

Okay maybe 0.01

 

[LesBaker]

Never stopped Andy Reid's backup QBs from developing. It didn't stop Cousins from developing during McVay's first year as OC in Washington. Bortles will be in on all the meetings. And he'll get reps on the practice field. It would be a mistake for McVay to totally ignore a guy who might have to step in if Goff is injured. He won't be a priority for McVay, but he'll get coaching.

And what backups has The Land Tuna developed?

Nope. Mannion was a massive reach of a third round pick

Cousins was a 3rd round pick and in your opinion McVay developed him. In one year.

But he can't develop Mannion. In two or more years? With only 50 passes on his resume. Cousins had a lot more work in WASH.

Yet he can magically develop the #3 overall pick in the first round into a solid backup after that player has been a turnover machine and shitty QB . After 5 seasons of average to crap play he can be transformed.

Just like Cousins was.

But Mannion can't be.

Mmmmmkay whatever.

 

[ReekofRams]

And what backups has The Land Tuna developed?



Cousins was a 3rd round pick and in your opinion McVay developed him. In one year.

But he can't develop Mannion. In two or more years? With only 50 passes on his resume. Cousins had a lot more work in WASH.

Yet he can magically develop the #3 overall pick in the first round into a solid backup after that player has been a turnover machine and crappy QB . After 5 seasons of average to crap play he can be transformed.

Just like Cousins was.

But Mannion can't be.

Mmmmmkay whatever.

I'm just going to add this one bit of prospective information. Everyone was surprised that Cousins lasted until the third round, and everyone was surprised that the Rams was stupid enough to draft Mannion so high when he was considered a 5th to 6th round talent. And Mannion has had way more than 53 throws in pre-season, and even there he stunk up the joint. So there is no comparison between Cousins and Mannion.

 

[Akrasian]

Cousins was a 3rd round pick and in your opinion McVay developed him. In one year.

But he can't develop Mannion. In two or more years? With only 50 passes on his resume. Cousins had a lot more work in WASH.

Not every 3rd round pick is equal. There has to be enough talent for McVay to develop. Mannion really hasn't shown anything to make me think that he has the physical and mental skills to be a decent NFL QB. Cousins obviously has. For that matter, as up and down as Bortles has been, he has in fact shown skills, something to base his development upon. I don't think he'll be a star - but I do think he has a shot at being a good backup QB, somebody who can do just enough to maintain a lead if Goff goes down for a game, and maybe enough to make a multigame Goff injury not a disaster for the team. And that's all you can really ask from a backup QB.

 

[jrry32]

And what backups has The Land Tuna developed?

Teams trading Reid for his backup QBs was so commonplace that it became a joke. But if you want to talk recently, there's a guy by the name of Mahomes . . .

Cousins was a 3rd round pick and in your opinion McVay developed him. In one year.

But he can't develop Mannion. In two or more years? With only 50 passes on his resume. Cousins had a lot more work in WASH.

Cousins was a 4th round pick, but I had him rated as a 2nd round pick. I saw the goods in Cousins, even if he had his flaws. I rated Mannion as a 7th round pick/UDFA. I saw a mediocre arm, mediocre mobility, slow processing ability, an overly robotic and methodical approach, average accuracy (threw a great fade route, though), and underwhelming decision-making. He tended to play it overly safe and conservative, but when he was forced to speed up his process, he made errors.

Plus, Cousins had been working under the Shanahans too. McVay was able to finish the job and find a system that worked for Cousins. Simply put, Mannion doesn't have the goods. Cousins did.

Yet he can magically develop the #3 overall pick in the first round into a solid backup after that player has been a turnover machine and crappy QB . After 5 seasons of average to crap play he can be transformed.

Nothing magical. He's not going to fix Bortles. What he can do is help Bortles improve to some extent and put him in a scheme/offense that will highlight his strengths. He's not going to turn Bortles into Brady, but he can do enough to make Bortles look good that Bortles might be able to rebuild his value.

 

[8to12]

Unlike Sean Mannion Blake Bortles has already shown some competency as a QB, even though he never really had any real teaching or support at the NFL level; something Mannion did have and failed miserably in comparison to Bortles.

Have you ever seen Mannion play with the First team in training camp?