Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles stays the starter, for now

The Jacksonville Jaguars benched Blake Bortles after a second half turnover. After much speculation, he will remain as the starting quarterback — for now.

The slide continued for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in Week 7 while losing their third consecutive game. In fact, Blake Bortles was benched after his second turnover, with Cody Kessler coming in as relief. However, Bortles will be the staring quarterback in Week 8.

This current stretch of games have been brutal for Bortles and the offense. They have not scored a first half point since September. Bortles has been under a deluge of pressure due to a shaky offensive line.

Without a running attack, opposing teams have unleashed constant pressure in hopes of rattling Bortles. They have succeeded in their strategy. Bortles has eight turnovers in the last three games.

Cody Kessler came in to lead the Jaguars to their only touchdown. After the game, speculation ran wild concerning which guy would start in London against Philadelphia. Doug Marrone ended all the speculation, saying the following John Oehser of Jaguars.com:

"“I spoke to both quarterbacks this afternoon and told them that Blake will be our team’s starting quarterback,” the statement said. “I believe this gives us the best opportunity to win.”"

Remember when Marrone said that turnovers would not be tolerated in 2017? Last season he threw 13 interception in 16 games. Currently, he has eight through just seven games. What has changed Marrone’s mind?

First of all, Jacksonville extended Bortles’ contract in the offseason. Jacksonville is financially committed to him at the cost of $54 million for three years, according to spotrac.com. The Jaguars have guaranteed $26.5 million of his contract. Moving away for Bortles would be very expensive for the Jaguars and their salary cap implications.

In 2018, the Jaguars have little extra salary cap space available left. As of now, the Jaguars are under the cap by $6.250 million. They are projected to be over the cap by $13 million in 2019.

Apparently, to Jacksonville, its cheaper to keep him. Evidently, Carlos Hyde is Leonard Fournette’s replacement in the power run attack. The offensive scheme is not changing but perhaps some of the contributors are, at a cheaper price.

The NFL trade deadline will pass next week without another quarterback being added to the roster. Like it or not, Bortles is still the starting quarterback.