Blake Bortles has only been with the Los Angeles Rams for a few months, but he’s already come away extremely impressed with what he’s seen from his new team – particularly head coach Sean McVay. He joined the Rams to be a part of what they’ve built and also benefit from the coaching of McVay, who’s something of a quarterback whisperer.
Bortles said he’s never seen coaching like what he’s gotten from McVay and the Rams’ staff, which is a huge compliment.
“Seeing how he coaches, how all the other coaches coach and how the guys are receptive and take it, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Bortles told Gary Klein of the L.A. Times.
McVay has helped turn Jared Goff into a Pro Bowl quarterback, while also leading the Rams to the Super Bowl. He’s also worked with the likes of Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan in the past, helping them become better quarterbacks.
Bortles struggled mightily in 2018 and was benched for Cody Kessler at one point. The Jaguars moved on by releasing him this offseason, but opportunities to start were few and far between.
So he decided to join the Rams as a backup in hopes of reviving his career under McVay and becoming a starter elsewhere in the coming years.
“It’s a weird thing to kind of balance in your head,” he said. “I have a role. I’m here to back Jared and do whatever I can to help him out. And if I get an opportunity, I’ve got to make sure we don’t miss a beat offensively and we continue to roll.
“And at the same time, I also expect to be a starter in this league again, and I know it’s not going to be here in L.A.
“So I’m trying to just better myself. … And if I get an opportunity to play, great. If not, then I spent a year learning from McVay, and being around a really good organization.”
Bortles gives the Rams some assurance as a backup to Goff thanks to his big-game experience. The Rams are a Super Bowl-caliber team and they couldn’t afford to go on a long losing skid if Goff did have to miss time.
They hope Bortles can at least keep the ship afloat in a pinch with all the talent the Rams have on offense. He certainly seems more reliable than Sean Mannion, who showed very little in his time with the Rams.
