Chad Henne Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes hurt his right ankle in the 1st quarter of Saturday's Divisional Round game vs. the Jaguars. He initially remained in the game but eventually headed back to the locker room with trainers and gave way to QB Chad Henne. X-rays on Mahomes' ankle came back clean, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, "but it does appear to be a high-ankle sprain." Mahomes will return for the 2nd half of this game. We'll see how that ankle holds up.

Per multiple sources, Jags HC Doug Marrone will name Blake Bortles the Week 1 starter vs. Houston. It’s a minor surprise after Chad Henne started the Jags’ 3rd preseason game. Across 34 preseason attempts, Bortles has posted 206 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. He remains a poor bet to start all 16 games and continues to put a damper on pass catchers like Allen Robinson. Bortles is buried in our QB rankings.

The Jaguars announced that QB Chad Henne will start Thursday's preseason game against the Panthers. QB Blake Bortles will also reportedly receive 1st-team reps, but Henne looks like the favorite to be under center come Week 1. This is a situation to avoid in fantasy drafts.

The Florida Times Union's Ryan O'Halloran predicts Chad Henne will be under center for the Jaguars come Week 1. It's the fallout from QB Blake Bortles' brutal performance in Thursday night's preseason game. "This regime isn’t about the future, it’s about which players they feel give them the best chance to win in Houston on Sept. 10," O'Halloran writes. "They’ll take Check-down Chad over a quarterback whose confidence looks shattered." He also points out that playing Bortles exposes him to an injury that could guarantee his $19 million salary next year. O'Halloran even believes that Bortles could end up getting cut. He's obviously undraftable right now.

Jaguars HC Gus Bradley said Tuesday that QB Blake Bortles is "progressing more quickly" than expected from his mid-foot sprain.  It sounds like he has a shot to play against the Titans on Thursday night, although we're still betting it'll be Chad Henne.  Neither guy is a recommended fantasy play, despite the plus matchup.  The Jags have topped 17 points in just 1 of their past 5 games.

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles has a mid-foot sprain.  HC Gus Bradley labeled the rookie "questionable" for Thursday night's game against the Titans, but we'd be surprised if Jacksonville threw him out there at less than 100%.  Look for QB Chad Henne to get the start.  The Jags' entire passing game is best avoided in Week 16 fantasy lineups.

Jaguars QB Chad Henne was benched for the 2nd half of Sunday's game against the Colts.  He completed 4 of 7 passes for 33 yards in the first 30 minutes.  QB Blake Bortles is in at QB for Jacksonville -- potentially for good.

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles couldn't have asked for a better final pass of his initial preseason.  The rookie hit fellow rookie WR Marqise Lee deep for a 57-yard TD early in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's preseason finale.  Bortles left after that series, having completed 4 of his 6 passes for 86 yards on the night.  He did take 2 sacks behind Jacksonville's shaky line and nearly throw a 1st-quarter INT.  But the 3rd overall pick finished the preseason 32-of-51 for 521 yards with 2 TDs and no picks.  Expect to see him on the field by mid-season for a Jacksonville squad with little to get excited about.  Veteran QB Chad Henne sat out the contest, which makes his opening-day starter job look safe.

Jaguars HC Gus Bradley named QB Chad Henne his Week 1 starter after Friday night's preseason game.  Henne has been solid in August, completing 65.7% of his passes with 1 TD and 0 INTs. Blake Bortles has looked like Jacksonville's best QB, though.  The Jags are sticking with their plan to redshirt Bortles for now, but we're still expecting to see the rookie under center at some point this season.  This remains a situation to avoid in fantasy drafts.

Jaguars HC Gus Bradley announced that QB Blake Bortles will play 1 quarter with the 1st-team offense in the 3rd preseason game.  That'll still leave at least 1 quarter for QB Chad Henne to work with the starters.  The veteran remains the favorite to start Week 1, but the rookie has made up some serious ground with a couple excellent showings in Jacksonville's first 2 preseason games.  It remains a situation to avoid in redraft fantasy leagues.

Jaguars QB Blake Bortles enjoyed another solid outing in the team's 2nd preseason game, completing 11 of his 17 passes for 160 yards and leading a couple of FG drives.  Two of Bortles' incompletions came on a clock-stopping spike and a drop by TE D.J. Tialavea, according to The Florida Times-Union.  HC Gus Bradley mentioned after Bortles' 1st preseason appearance that the Bucs didn't give him the same kind of defensive look -- including just 1 blitz -- that he'd see in the regular season.  And the Bears weren't throwing extra pass-rushers at the rookie Thursday night.  Those factors are important to keep in mind while not overrating Bortles' performances.  Still, he's probably looking steadier than most would have expected and could force his way onto the field sooner in real games.  Of course, it's also worth noting that QB Chad Henne played well against Chicago on Thursday night, too.  The veteran completed 12 of 17 throws for 130 yards and a TD.

Beat writer Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union called the debut performance of rookie Jaguars QB Blake Bortles "by far the offensive highlight" of the team's Friday night preseason opener.  Bortles completed 7 of 11 passes for 117 yards and led the team to 3 points within his 22 snaps of action.  According to O'Halloran, 3 of those 4 incompletions came on drops by Jacksonville wideouts. HC Gus Bradley wouldn't say yet whether his 1st-round pick would get time with the starters this preseason, however: “We’ll keep evaluating it. … We’ll see how it progresses — we’ll see how the fourth game goes. It could happen earlier, depending on how things go."

Jaguars insider Ryan O'Halloran points out that QB Blake Bortles has yet to take a 1st-team rep in OTAs, minicamp or training camp.  It's confirmation that QB Chad Henne is locked in as Jacksonville's Week 1 starter.  If he doesn't face plant, the Jags could keep Bortles on the bench all season.  We don't have that much faith in Henne, though, and expect to see Bortles get some action in the 2nd half of the season.  It remains a situation to avoid in redraft fantasy leagues.

The Jaguars aren't planning to push rookie QB Blake Bortles into a starting job.  GM Dave Caldwell told ESPN's Britt McHenry that QB Chad Henne will open the 2014 season under center.  It's a smart strategy.  Bortles' game needs refinement, and Jacksonville still needs to add pieces around him on the offensive line and in the WR corps.  But the Jags are clearly sky-high on Bortles.  They used the 3rd overall pick on him and view him as a "once-in-a-lifetime player," according to McHenry.  And when Henne inevitably struggles, the calls for Bortles will be loud.  We're betting on the rookie seeing plenty of action in 2014.  He won't be more than a low-end QB2 in fantasy, though.

The Jaguars have their new QB, selecting Blake Bortles with the 3rd overall pick of the draft.  Jacksonville certainly did a nice job keeping this pick under wraps.  Bortles has all the tools to emerge as a franchise signal caller.  He goes 6'5, 232 pounds with plenty of arm strength and athleticism.  The finer points of his game need work, though.  And he played against subpar competition at UCF.  Bortles is still the favorite to beat out QB Chad Henne for the Week 1 starting job, but he'll be nothing more than a low-end QB2 in redraft fantasy leagues.

The Jaguars have traded QB Blaine Gabbert to the 49ers in exchange for a 6th-round pick.  We're surprised San Francisco would even be willing to give up a 6th rounder for him.  Gabbert has been a disaster since being selected by the Jaguars in the 1st round of the 2011 draft.  He sports a 53.3% completion rate with 22 TDs and 24 INTs.  He'll obviously slide in as the backup behind Colin Kaepernick and is off the fantasy radar.  The Jaguars, meanwhile, figure to head into 2014 with Chad Henne and a rookie atop the QB depth chart.

The Jags re-signed QB Chad Henne to a 2-year deal worth $8 million.  HC Gus Bradley called the signing “very important.”  He also indicated that Henne is the likely Week 1 starter – even if Jacksonville drafts a QB 3^rd overall.  Henne was average last year, tossing for 3,241 yards with 13 TDs and 14 INTs.  But he’s an experienced passer who knows OC Jedd Fisch’s offense.  The Jags certainly need to add weapons, and they could be eyeballing WR Sammy Watkins in May’s draft.  Even if Watkins lands in Jacksonville, though, Henne will remain a poor fantasy option.  We still expect the Jags to select a QB in the draft, but it's unlikely to happen in Round 1. 

Speaking at the Scouting Combine on Friday, Jaguars HC Gus Bradley indicated that QB Chad Henne remains the team's top option for 2014.  “Everybody is tagged with, 'Is he a franchise quarterback?'" Bradley said, per Jaguars.com.  "That's really difficult.  I guess Chad Henne is ours and he's our starter, if we get him re-signed."  That's no strong endorsement, but Bradley implied that the team is trying to re-sign its primary 2013 starter.  He could have easily called it an open competition heading into the new season, especially with Jacksonville picking 3rd in the draft and apparently planning to keep QB Blaine Gabbert for the final season of his deal.  Even if the Jags re-sign Henne, we expect them to draft a signal-caller at some point in May.  We'll see whether that happens.

Jaguars HC Gus Bradley said Monday that he'll go with QB Chad Henne as the starter the rest of the way, adding that QB Blaine Gabbert would basically only play if a game situation calls for a change.  "I talked to Blaine last week about being ready for his opportunities if they should exist, if we felt like we need a jolt or the opportunity presents itself to go in the game I would not hesitate to do that,” Bradley said. "It's not let's go in there thinking, ‘Let's get Blaine some reps in this game.' I think it's more we really feel strongly about Chad, but if something should take place we wouldn't hesitate with Blaine."  The Jaguars likely won't dump Bradley after his 1st season, but nixing the final year on Gabbert's contract certainly seems possible.

Jaguars HC Gus Bradley confirmed that QB Chad Henne will start Sunday's game against the 49ers.  QB Blaine Gabbert was a full-go in Wednesday's practice but has been relegated to backup duties.  Henne remains nothing more than a QB2, but his standing atop the depth chart is good news for WRs Justin Blackmon and Cecil Shorts.