The Sean Mannion-era appears to be over. The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with quarterback Blake Bortles. It was first reported by Jeff Darlington of ESPN and confirmed by the team.
Bortles will slide in as Jared Goff’s backup, meaning the Rams will be moving on from Mannion, their 2015 third-round pick. Mannion never looked good during the preseason, and nearly lost his job to Brandon Allen last offseason.
Many fans had been calling for an upgrade behind Goff, and the Rams’ front office clearly felt the same way. Bortles has caught a lot of flak for never living up to his draft status, but he’s a more than capable backup. The third overall pick of the 2014 draft, Bortles spent the first five years of his career with the Jaguars.
He led Jacksonville to the AFC championship game two seasons ago, which earned him a hefty contract extension. He immediately regressed again last year, and was soon benched for Cody Kessler. He ended up reclaiming the starting job at the end of the season, but made it just one year into his new deal.
Shortly after signing Nick Foles to be their new starter, the Jaguars released Bortles. He had a meeting set up for earlier Monday and the Rams apparently liked what they heard and saw. Goff has been durable during his couple of years as the starter, but the Rams are now in much better hands if he were to go down with an injury.
Bortles is pretty mobile and his running ability gives him some added upside. With the talent on the rest of the roster, the Rams would be able to stay afloat with Bortles if Goff were to miss a couple of games.
