Blake Bortles' stellar preseason play won't result in the Week 1 starting job, but it does appear to have the Jacksonville Jaguars reconsidering their stance to park him on the bench for the entirety of his rookie season.
Coach Gus Bradley reiterated Friday that Chad Hennewill start the season opener versus the Eagles, barring injury.
Bradley feels strongly about Henne's play this summer and believes the veteran's "body of work" is more impressive than Bortles' performance to date.
Bortles will begin taking first-team reps in practice this week, though, and Bradley said the rookie could play an entire quarter with the first-team offense next Friday against the Lions.
"We're seeing progress being made," Bradley said.
Bradley emphasized, however, that Bortles' increased practice role is no different than the treatment given to the rest of the team's rookies in the coming week.
In other words, the Jaguars are sticking to their plan for September.
Unless Henne gets off to a career-best start, we firmly believe Bortles' rapid development will have the coaching staff reassessing that "redshirt" plan by the end of October.
*The latest "Around the League Podcast" broke down the biggest position battles and ranked the best backup QBs in the league. *
