Blake Bortles, Former No. 3 Pick, Officially Announces Retirement

The former first-round QB came a few plays shy of the Super Bowl in 2017.

In 2017, it looked as if Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles may manage to live up to his status as a former No. 3 NFL draft pick when he led the team to an AFC championship berth and near-upset over the Patriots. Jacksonville fell back to Earth a year later, which proved to be his final with the franchise, and after brief backup stints with the Rams, Broncos, Packers and Saints, it appears that Bortles’s time in the NFL is over.

The UCF great appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast, and announced that he quietly retired a month ago, a move that did not previously garner much attention. Bortles had not been with a team since April, when he was waived by the Saints.

“I have not touched a football since January,” Bortles said, when asked if he was ready to sign with a team if the opportunity presented itself.

“I quietly—I didn’t tell anybody—I retired two months ago probably. I just didn’t tell anyone, so I guess you guys are the first to hear publicly.”

Of course, money talks, and Bortles said he’d “be there in a heartbeat” if a team offered him a two-year, $15 million contract.

Bortles appeared in 78 games through eight NFL seasons, starting 73—all for the Jaguars. His last appearance came with the Rams in 2019.

He finishes with a career completion percentage of 59.3% for 17,649 yards, 103 touchdowns, 75 interceptions and 1,766 rushing yards with eight scores on the ground. At UCF, Bortles was a two-time all-conference player, making the All-AAC first team in 2013. He was also the league’s Offensive Player of the Year that season.

• MMQB: Believe it or not, Geno Smith is pretty good