Doug Marrone explains reason behind Blake Bortles benching
The increasingly desperate Jacksonville Jaguars benched quarterback Blake Bortles on Sunday, and Doug Marrone wasn’t mincing words when explaining it after the game.
Marrone said he was looking for a spark when he benched Bortles in favor of Cody Kessler, adding that the quarterback took the fall because he couldn’t sit all 11 players.
“Thought process was you can take all 11 out, you don’t have enough people to put in,” Marrone said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. “Thought process: ‘Hey listen, I’m going to take the quarterback out.’ Not like he had he played worse anyone out there. He had two fumbles. I just literally did it to try and get a damn spark from this football team to put everyone on notice. They have to focus and go out there and play better. At points in second half they did it. That’s not fair to the QB, but that’s how the business is.”
Marrone also wouldn’t commit to Bortles as next week’s starter.
Marrone on QB situation: "It's open."
— Phillip Heilman (@phillip_heilman) October 21, 2018
Marrone’s move didn’t light enough of a spark, as the Jaguars still lost 20-7. It doesn’t sound like things got any better after the game, either.
