Henne will start 3rd preseason game

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 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 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.

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.