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One practice play perfectly captures the struggles of Blake Bortles and teammates appear to be growing frustrated

Scott Davis   

One practice play perfectly captures the struggles of Blake Bortles and teammates appear to be growing frustrated
Sports1 min read

blake bortles

John Raoux/AP

By most accounts, it has not been a pleasant training camp for Blake Bortles.

After struggling mightily in 2016, throwing 23 touchdowns to 16 interceptions with a 59% completion rate, most of the training camp headlines around Bortles have focused on his inaccuracy.

There was a five-interception day at practice earlier in August and a scrimmage-opening interception in a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On Tuesday, we got a glimpse of what looks like growing frustration among Jaguars players. In a one-on-one with Bucs' cornerback Robert McClain in what looked like a red-zone drill, Allen Robinson could not get to the ball because Bortles overthrew it and it sailed out of bounds. Video from Pewter Report shows Robinson saying, "Keep that s--- in-bounds, bro" afterward.

Robinson's response seems to be part of a growing disenchantment with Bortles. After a promising 2015 season, Bortles regressed in 2016, both in accuracy and mechanics. This offseason, for the third year in a row, the Jaguars said Bortles would be working on his mechanics. From the sounds of it, there hasn't been a ton of improvement.

With new management and a new head coach in Tom Coughlin and Doug Marrone, respectively, it's worth wondering how much longer Bortles will keep the starting job. Some people consider this a make-or-break year for Bortles; with a talented incoming quarterback draft class, if Bortles and the Jaguars struggle again, the front office may be looking at replacements next May.

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