Has Bortles Already Lost the Jags' QB Battle?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have long been a celler dweller in the NFL.

In their 23-year history, they've had 7 winning seasons.

Their last winning year -- as well as a playoff appearance -- was back in 2007, or about five head coaches ago.

About the only excitement they generate is when the persistent rumors of moving to London pop up.

What's holding the deal back is London will have to take the team, too.

However, current head coach Doug Marrone -- bless his little pigskin-covered heart -- plans on getting the Jaguars back to the post-season. Now.

Problem is, he doesn’t have a starter penciled in at the quarterback positon for Week One.

There's a good, old fashioned QB battle in Jacksonville. 

Marrone announced this week that the Jaguars are hosting a slinger throwdown -- damn near literally, if that's a term for incomplete passes -- matching Blake Bortles and Chad Henne.

Bortles has been the Jags' starting QB since Week 4 back in 2014, the same year the club drafted him No 3 overall.

For anyone who's forgotten, this is the same draft that produced Pro-Bowl chuckers in Derek Carr and Teddy Bridgewater, as well as 16 other Pro-Bowlers. Other than Jadeveon Clowney, the other 17 were drafted after the Bortles pick.

Since joining Jax, Bortles has averaged 3668 yards and 23 touchdowns per season. The problem, though, stems from his 18 interceptions per season.

Turning the ball over has been his biggest problem since joining the Jags. Earlier in camp this year, Bortles tossed five picks, which may be a sign for both Marrone and new Jags executive Tom Coughlin that it may be time to move on.

The club didn’t bring in any new QB’s during the off-season, so it appears they're happy with what Henne's done so far in the pre-season.

At 32, Henne -- the word's Swedish for her and/or it; go figure -- was the Jax starter from 2012 until Bortles took over in 2014. Being real, dude's not gonna do much for the team's future. But if he doesn’t suck too badly, the Jags can dump Bortles and look to find their next QB of the future in the 2018 draft.

Henne's gonna have to buck a trend if the team wants to be competitive. He's been -- how to put this delicately? -- bad since his Dolphins days.

If any team has nothing to lose for giving Colin Kaepernick a shot, this one's it.

Besides, the British have never been fussed about plaing pre-game anthems, anyway.