The Jaguars spent a top-three pick on Blake Bortles, but that doesn't mean they're going to throw him into the fire.Â
Jacksonville coach Gus Bradley has maintained all along that incumbent starter Chad Henne will be under center when the Jags open the season at Philadelphia. The second-year head coach told NFL Media's Alex Flanagan on Wednesday's edition of *NFL Total Access *that the team has gotten behind Henne as the leader.
"I think it's been out there that our beliefs and our feelings is that we feel so strongly about Chad and he's going in, I think the team has really rallied around that," Bradley said from the NFL Rookie Symposium. "Now, it has provided an atmosphere for Blake to really go out there and ask a lot of questions and gain a lot of information from all the quarterbacks that are in.
"He's doing a really good job, he's having more good days than days that maybe he's struggling, like all rookies have," Bradley continued. "We're very excited about his development."
Henne might not inspire confidence around the league, but he has a plethora of starting experience and is an accurate signal-caller (he connected on over 60 percent of his passes last season). His Achilles' heel is turnovers, and in 2013 he threw more picks than TDs. In fact, Henne has never thrown for more scores than interceptions in a single season during his six-year career.Â
Bradley revealed that Bortles will get first-team reps during training camp so he gets a "feel for that type of environment."
If Henne struggles as expected, Bortles might get to experience the real thing sooner than the Jaguars brass hopes.Â
In the latest episode of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys discuss Rob Gronkowski's comeback and Cordarrelle Patterson's potential rise in '14.
