Report: Jaguars Rejected Teddy Bridgewater-for-Dante Fowler Trade in Preseason

The New York Jets reportedly offered quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the Jacksonville Jaguars before the season in exchange for edge-rusher Dante Fowler Jr., according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

Per that report: "New York had determined that rookie Sam Darnold was likely to be their starter by [August] and were just starting to shop Bridgewater and veteran backup Josh McCown. The Jags were offered Bridgewater for Fowler and declined quickly, with the talks fizzling after that."

Instead, the Jets ended up trading Bridgewater to the New Orleans Saints for a third-round pick, while the Jaguars received a 2019 third-rounder and 2020 fifth-rounder for Fowler, who they traded to the Los Angeles Rams last week.

The Jaguars didn't address the quarterback position, however, with La Canfora noting that players like Philadelphia's Nick Foles and Cleveland's Tyrod Taylor were available. Instead, Jacksonville will stick with Blake Bortles, who has had his struggles this season amid a disappointing 3-5 start.

Bortles, 26, has thrown for 2,021 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions, completing just 60.3 percent of his passes. He's arguably been more effective as a runner, rushing for 261 yards and a score. Pro Football Focus has given him a grade of 69 thus far this season, 22nd in the NFL among quarterbacks.

So while it would be unfair to blame Jacksonville's struggles solely on Bortles, he's clearly been a part of the problem for a team that came into the season with Super Bowl aspirations. 

At some point, it seems inevitable that the Jaguars will have to address the quarterback position and find a replacement for Bortles. Their hesitance to do so in August makes sense in the wake of Bortles signing a three-year, $54 million contract extension in February. 

But the Jaguars could move on from that contract after the 2019 season and would only be on the hook for $5 million, per Spotrac. So if Bortles doesn't reverse course, the Jaguars likely will be in the market for a quarterback, though they may lament passing on the opportunity to bring in a player like Bridgewater when they had the chance.