Quarterback Blake Bortles, who spent two different stints with the Green Bay Packers during the 2021 season, has retired from the National Football League, per Pardon My Take.
Bortles, the third overall pick in 2014, played in 78 career games and threw 103 touchdown passes but never saw the field for the Packers.
The Aaron Rodgers saga pushed the Packers to sign Bortles as a veteran option in May of 2021. After Rodgers returned to the team before training camp, Bortles was released.
He returned as a backup on the practice squad after Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 in November. The Packers elevated him to the gameday roster as the backup for Jordan Love against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bortles, who turned 30 in April, played for five NFL teams, including a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints.
The Packers faced Bortles as a starting quarterback just once, beating him and the Jaguars 27-23 in Week 1 of the 2016 season. Bortles threw for 320 yards but was intercepted once and sacked three times.
Bortles was the third pick in 2014. Current Packer receiver Sammy Watkins was the fourth overall pick. Bortles and Watkins are two of only four players in the top 17 picks of that draft to never make a Pro Bowl. The Packers took safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with the 21st overall pick in 2014.
