Blake Bortles spent five seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, making 73 starts at quarterback. However, after being drafted in 2014, Bortles asked about playing tight end instead.
“I thought early on that tight end could have been a better potential long-term situation for my skill set, and they pushed back on that, so I ended up playing quarterback,” Bortles said in an interview with Pardon My Take.
The Jaguars selected Bortles with the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft. So the team had no intentions of him playing a different position.
“I think that had something to do with it,” Bortles said of being the third overall pick.
Every now and then during practice, Bortles said he would jump into a few tight end drills for fun.
Bortles finished his career with the Jaguars throwing for 17,646 yards with 103 touchdowns to 75 interceptions. In 2017, the Jaguars made it to the AFC Championship game.
“Quarterback ended up being alright,” Bortles said.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Blake Bortles asked Jaguars to play tight end early in his career
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Jaguars Wire / Jaguars Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
