Hasselbeck says Bortles still in battle for respect
Former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck is in Orlando as part of ESPN’s broadcast team for the Pro Bowl. Hasselbeck, 42, took time before Sunday’s game at Camping World Stadium to discuss some current quarterbacks.
How much did Blake Bortles’ playoff performance change how he is perceived?
“It changes a little bit, but until he plays more consistent, he’s probably going to fight an uphill battle with the casual fan. The casual fan is going to hear his name and have a certain thought in his head. But for the people who study the type of year that he had, he actually played pretty good football at times.’’
Bortles is guaranteed $19 million in 2018 if he is with the Jags on March 14. What do you think Jacksonville will do?
“I think the people in the building believe in him, but at the same time, when you’re talking about $19 million-plus in salary, they’re going to look around and say, ‘What else can we get in that kind of a ballpark?’
“You just never know. For example, if Eli Manning decides, ‘I don’t want to be a part of this rebuilding thing in New York,’ I know a guy [Tom Coughlin] who’s running the Jacksonville Jaguars who loves him some Eli Manning. A lot can happen, but Blake Bortles has shown enough for him to have an option to be a starting quarterback somewhere next year.’’
Moving to Tampa Bay, assess Jameis Winston’s season.
“Expectations were really high for him, probably a little bit too high for that team. That shoulder injury before the Buffalo game — where he sprained his AC joint and they decided to not rest him, inject the shoulder, take away some of the pain, numb it up — affected him. His numbers before and after that shoulder injury — if you take out the Buffalo game, where it was numbed up — were night and day. But getting him back healthy, maybe cleaning some stuff up, expectations won’t be so high. They should have a bounce-back year.’’
What is Winston’s ceiling as a player?
“Trying to guess where someone is going to COMMENTARY end up in their career … I mean, a year ago, look at Jared Goff. A year ago, the common perception was, ‘Aw, this guy is a bust.’ Now he’s in the Pro Bowl, excelling, looking good. Every year is different, and you’re so reliant on the people around you and the coaches coaching you and that kind of stuff.’’
How comfortable should the Dolphins be with Ryan Tannehill missing this year after knee surgery?
“Well, it is concerning, because it was a noncontact injury. The challenge is going to be, ‘Can Ryan Tannehill provide elite quarterback play, and can he do it consistently?’ He’s got the physical tools. It’s the other stuff they have to pull out of him, the leadership stuff and doing it consistently.’’
Only considering QBs in the NFL now, who will be the best in five years?
“I’m a big Carson Wentz fan. The other guy I like a lot is [Kansas City Chiefs rookie] Patrick Mahomes. If he has the opportunity to sit back and learn, much like Aaron Rodgers did behind Brett Favre, if you’re talking five years from now, I could see Patrick Mahomes [taking] all that he learned from Andy Reid and Alex Smith and be a major factor in this league.’’
Few quarterbacks have played in the NFL when they are 40 years old. Tom Brady is one. You are another. What did your body feel like after a game at that age, and what was the biggest challenge?
“I didn’t feel any worse at 40 than I did at 25. If anything, I was in so much better shape. I knew at 40, everyone was going to try to kick me out of the league — every coach, every scout, every writer, every fan — for the next guy. It made [me] work even harder. And for a lot of positions, you slow down as you get older. For quarterback, the game slows down for you.
“The biggest challenge is that your kids are getting older. You’ve made enough money. At what point do you say, ‘I want to get more quality family time.’ When I retired, I had a daughter who was going into high school. I was like, ‘OK, I could squeeze in another year, maybe two, but is it worth that?’
“I know Tom Brady can keep going. My question is, if he says yes to football, he’d be saying no to something else. What is that thing that he would say yes to, to make him say no to any more football?’’