Jaguars rumors: Team to sign Colin Kaepernick in wake of Blake Bortles benching?

Screen Shot 2018-10-22 at 8.45.25 AM

Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles turned in another stinker in Sunday’s loss to the Texans, and it may be time for the team to take a flier on signing Colin Kaepernick.

Three is a trend, and Bortles has now turned in three consecutive poor performances — all games the team lost. He’s turned the football over eight times in just 2 1/2 games of action, and it’s really hurt the offense. There were theories about him just being a completely different quarterback on the road — which does appear to be true, although he was terrible at home as well on Sunday — and also following up good performances with bad ones (ie. playing well on even-numbered weeks, but bad on odd-numbered ones).

Well, the rubber is now meeting the road, and the takeaway appears to be this: Bortles just isn’t good. He never really was an accurate quarterback, and had a habit of holding onto the ball too long. Most importantly, he struggles to read opposing defenses, which leads to turnovers and poor decisions with the football.

Last season was an anomaly, as the team hid his deficiencies with great playcalling and a strong running game led by rookie running back Leonard Fournette. The defense was also clearly the best in the league. Well, fast-forward to 2018, and none of those are a thing anymore. The team is need of a spark.

Enter Colin Kaepernick.

Kaep last played in a NFL game in January 2017, as he’s been out of football since that time. It’s unclear if he really was blackballed, or it was due to him just being unsuccessful as a starting signal-caller, or both. NFL teams didn’t really seem to be interested in the media circus that he brings just to have him be a backup.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan has long been a fan of Kaepernick, and remember, just over a year ago, he said he’d “absolutely” be in favor of the team signing the free-agent QB if the front office recommended it.

We know this: The Jaguars need a change at quarterback, as the team is reeling, and its championship window is closing, with a number of expiring contracts upcoming. The Jags can either trade for a quarterback, or go after someone like Kaep, who they wouldn’t have to give up any draft picks to acquire.

Whatever they choose to do — the clock is ticking. They can’t afford to drop a fourth-straight game.

Arrow to top