Bortles to ignite crowd for Jaguars-Browns opener
Blake Bortles will lead the Jacksonville Jaguars' pregame "First DUUUVAL" ceremony when the team opens its 2026 home schedule against the Cleveland Browns. The organization selected Bortles to deliver the chant that fires up TIAA Bank Field before kickoff, a role the club rotates among different figures for each home game.
The choice reunites a familiar face with Jaguars fans to kick off a season that follows a 13-4 campaign and an AFC South title. The club will host the Browns in its Week 1 home game.
From franchise passer to local presence
Bortles spent the early portion of his NFL career in Jacksonville and remains high on the team's career lists — third in franchise history in passing yards with 17,646.
After leaving Jacksonville, Bortles played briefly for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, appearing in three games and completing 1-of-2 passes for three yards. He stepped away from pro football following a short stint with the New Orleans Saints in the 2022 offseason and has since built a life in the Jacksonville area working in construction with NEXGEN Roofing.
Sunday's appearance will bring Bortles back to the stadium not as a player but as a local figure who once carried the franchise's hopes. Yardbarker described the moment as "less about on-field performance and more about connection," casting the ceremony as a nostalgic boost for a fan base that watched Bortles grow into the role he carried in the franchise's formative years.
That blend of history and hometown presence is central to the First DUUUVAL tradition, and the Jaguars' decision to open the season with Bortles leading the chant ties the club's recent success to its past. For many fans, his walk back onto the field — even masked by pomp and pageantry rather than a uniform — will be a reminder of the continuity between the team's past milestones and its current aspirations.
