Pranger » The Jacksonville Jaguars have benched Blake Bortles

and Cody Kessler is now the starter — the 17th different quarterback to start a game under center for this team who has been in search of The Man..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Jaguars Free Agency 2016Jaguars Film RoomNFL DraftJaguars Injury NewsLatest NewsWhat are your expectations for Cody Kessler?New http://www.thejaguarslockerroom.com/authentic-ereck-flowers-jersey ,26commentsByRyan Day@ryaneatscakeNov 30, 2018,9:08am ESTShareTweetShareShareWhat are your expectations for Cody Kessler?Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY SportsThe Jacksonville Jaguars have benched Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler is now the starter — the 17th different quarterback to start a game under center for this team who has been in search of The Man since their inception. Steve Beuerlein was the first one to be given a shot, Mark Brunell and David Garrard came close to the mark, and Blake Bortles showed flashes, but none of them were truly franchise quarterbacks in the sense that they were era defining players. They were fine and serviceable, bringing this team to the Super Bowl’s doorstep three times in 23 seasons, but they never quite got over that hump.Kessler is likely not that guy. I don’t think anyone in Jacksonville has the expectation he’s that guy. That’s not what you expect out of a guy you traded a Day 3 pick for nine months ago. But with five games to go and a big question mark at quarterback this offseason, Kessler can play his way into a bridge role for next season. That’s a best case scenario.The worst case scenario is that he’s even worse than Bortles and we have to go back to Blake before the season ends.Personally, my hope and expectation is that Kessler can run this offense competently enough to give the Jaguars confidence to draft a quarterback in the first round. Through the preseason, he didn’t look to have too high a ceiling but he didn’t have too low a floor either — able to extend drives with third down throws, not turn the ball over, and lean on his offensive line and running game. And when he was thrown into a Week 7 matchup against the Houston Texans, he didn’t look that bad, completing 70 percent of his passes. He’s a dink-and-dunk guy, getting just 5.2 yards per attempt and the pass protection failed him as he took four sacks, but the play calling dictated that whomever was under center would be throwing nearly every down.With a week of preparation Womens Brad Nortman Jersey , I expect Kessler to improve that yards per attempt number, to cut down on the sacks, and keep his completion percentage above 60 percent. I don’t necessarily expect a win this week — Andrew Luck throwing against a secondary that’s missing Jalen Ramsey will probably be tough to watch — but I do expect Kessler to read the field better and allow the offense to throw the ball when needed.As far as the rest of the season, I expect Kessler to keep the starting quarterback job into the offseason and (as I said) give the Jaguars reason enough to cut and run with Blake’s disastrous contract. He’ll be a fine enough backup that they won’t need to spend $21 million on one.What do you think? What are your expectations for Kessler over the final five games? Let us know in the comments below! The Jacksonville Jaguars (5-10) see the light at the end of the tunnel as they hit the road to take on the Texans (10-5) at NRG Stadium at 1:00pm EST to close out the 2018 season.BROADCAST:..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Jaguars Free Agency 2016Jaguars Film RoomNFL DraftJaguars Injury NewsLatest NewsJacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans primer: Key matchups, storylines, predictions, and more for Week 17 New,12commentsanymore. If this is the case, I do hope Bortles has a nice farewell game and potentially increases his next contract by a million or so to add to the contract offsets that could save the Jaguars more cap room next season. Another major storyline is draft position. For those hoping to secure a franchise quarterback through the draft, as AP’s Mark Long reported is the plan this offseason, they really need to acquire the highest positioning possible. Yes, they will likely have to trade up wherever they end up (anywhere as high as No. 5 or as low as No. 13), but trading up from a couple spots versus several spots could spell a difference of a 2020 first rounder and maybe even more assets. If they are indeed planning on taking a young rookie quarterback like Dwayne Haskins Jr., they need to hold on to as many draft picks as possible so they can surround him with talent to ensure his success, so the less they need to trade, the better. With this week’s news that Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert will be returning to Eugene for his senior season, Jaguars fans should be cheering for the Detroit Lions Dawuane Smoot Jersey , Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, and Buffalo Bills to win their games this week.Lastly, the saga of Leonard Fournette continues. Already having missed the crux of the 2018 season with a hamstring injury, Fournette is very questionable to play on Sunday with a foot/ankle issue that has kept him out of practice this week and he is slowly starting to wear out his welcome in Jacksonville. The second-year player and offensive team captain has recently disclosed to media that he “could be in better shape,” and while I do think that his comments were blown slightly out of proportion, there is no doubt this offseason will be crucial for Fournette to re-commit to being a professional. Fournette needs to prove he loves football again and that he wants to be great. This isn’t LSU and he’s not above the game. He can’t get away with pure talent and being bigger and stronger than everyone else in the NFL. Hopefully Fournette hires a nutritionist, personal trainer, and gets with Fred Taylor, who faced similar criticisms early in his Jaguars career, so that he can turn it around and become the player we all hoped for. Right now, he is looking a lot more like Trent Richardson than he is Ezekiel Elliott.That’s really it for storylines. With a season as disappointing as 2018 was for the Jaguars, let’s get this game over with, avoid major injuries, and go full throttle into offseason mode. Key matchupsJalen Ramsey vs. Deandre HopkinsOur favorite matchup of the year, Ramsey recently labeled Hopkins and Odell Beckham Jr. as “1a and 1b” when it comes to the best receivers in the NFL. Watching both Ramsey and Hopkins is truly seeing the pinnacles of their positions squaring off against each other and is worth the price of admission alone. Hopkins has been battling a nagging ankle injury but should be fine for Sunday.Yannick Ngakoue vs. Julien DavenportNgakoue needs two sacks to get to consecutive double-digit sack seasons, and I’m wagering he gets them against Davenport. Ngakoue may be used more as a stand up linebacker on delayed rushes this week against the mobile Watson http://www.thejaguarslockerroom.com/authentic-andrew-norwell-jersey , and Ngakoue may be the beneficiary of some panic scrambles this week. Davenport has allowed over 60 pressures on 581 pass block snaps this year and had eight (!!!) pressures allowed just last week, so he’s not exactly getting better as the season goes along.Calais Campbell vs. Kendall LammIt’s really a travesty that Calais Campbell wasn’t named to the Pro Bowl along with Jalen Ramsey. Campbell is PFF’s highest-rated edge defender in the NFL this season and is low-key having just as good a season (especially as a run defender) that yielded first-team all pro honors last year. Protect Calais at all costs, Jaguars.Ereck Flowers vs. Jadeveon ClowneyThe Ereck Flowers future Jaguars swing tackle audition continues, and it’s going to get real this week with Jadeveon Clowney lining up across from him. Clowney has had an exceptional season in a contract year and is looking at some big money in free agency this offseason. Opposite Flowers, former swing tackle Josh Wells is shockingly looking doubtful to play after suffering a concussion in his first game being activated from IR last week, which means we may see Corey Robinson (?) or Patrick Omameh at right tackle. Omameh stepped in last week with Robinson inactive and Chris Reed slid in at left guard, but wow this is a lot of shuffling and Sunday will be bad.Quenton Meeks vs. Vyncint SmithWho? A.J. Bouye was a “did not participate” in practice all week with a toe injury, which could spell good news for Quenton Meeks stans. With Demaryius Thomas and Will Fuller on injured reserve, that means he will be covering another undrafted free agent in Vyncint Smith from Limestone College. Smith saw his first meaningful stats of the season last week and scored his first career NFL touchdown, so this will be an intriguing match up to keep an eye on this week. Blake Bortles vs. Justin ReidReid has had a stellar rookie season and is hungry to bounce back after a poor collective showing from the Texans secondary last week. Reid has three interceptions on the season and will be looking to add another off the hand of Blake Bortles this week. Bortles will likely be throwing on the move a lot on Sunday and has to be extremely aware of where Reid is on the field if Scott Milanovich decides to move the pocket. Final predictionOut of my hope to maintain good draft positioning, I’m going with the Texans winning at home. With that being said, why do I have a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that Blake is going to mess around and have a wild game?Best case scenario is the Jaguars play the Texans close, but it’s up to Bortles to lead a two-minute drive for a win and he comes up short (again). It’s not because I don’t like Blake, it’s because I don’t want to go through the next four months debating whether the Jaguars should just keep him around as the bridge. It’s been five years. Move on. Texans win 27-20.