Despite Blake Bortles' scorching preseason, coach Gus Bradley reiterated last Friday that veteran Chad Hennewill start the Jacksonville Jaguars' regular-season opener.
The organization is softening its stance, however, that Bortles will redshirt for the entirety of his rookie season.
Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch acknowledged to TheMMQB.com's Peter King on Monday that the script has changed since the preseason started.
"This fan base saw a quarterback get thrown to the wolves," Fisch said, referring to Blaine Gabbert. "We don't need to force it. We never thought when we drafted (Bortles) we were taking him to play now. But nothing is set in stone. We're giving Blake every chance to make the decision super-hard for us."
Through two preseason games, Bortles is already forcing the team's brain trust to accelerate the timetable for his arrival as the face of the franchise.
"We're seeing progress being made," Bradley said after last week's game.
Bortles took a handful of snaps in Monday's practice, and he's slated for a quarter with the starters in Friday's game versus the Lions.
The first half of that prognostication has already proved true. Counting 7-on-7 drills, Bortles saw seven or eight reps with the ones Monday, per The Florida Times-Union.
If there is one lesson the NFL has taught us about quarterback depth charts over the years, it's this: When the most talented quarterback on the roster is wasting away on the bench, the situation couldn't be more fluid.
Events can unfold to adjust priorities.
We will gobsmacked if Bortles is not leading Fisch's offense by Halloween.
The latest "Around the League Podcast" talks quarterback battles and debates the gang's preseason power rankings.
