Coming off the best season of his career, there has been speculation that the Jacksonville Jaguars might decide to move on from quarterback Blake Bortles this spring. That idea was brought to light again on Friday when this one report noted that the Jaguars were still looking at all options regarding their quarterback situation (more on that here).
This came on the heels of the Jaguars seemingly committing to Bortles as their starting quarterback for the 2018 season.
Jacksonville does have a decision to make here in the not-so-distant future. The team picked up the fifth-year option on Bortles’ rookie contract, guaranteeing him north of $19 million should he be on the roster when the new league year hits next month. The defending AFC South champs can release Bortles before then, saving all $19 million against the 2018 cap in the process.
According to this report from ESPN’s Josina Anderson, the Jaguars are now working on a contract extension with Bortles.
A league source says the #Jaguars and Blake Bortles are working on a contract extension.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 25, 2018
This definitely seems to be the most logical outcome for both sides. Bortles led his Jaguars to the AFC Championship Game this past season. And in three playoff starts, he threw three touchdowns compared to zero interceptions. It’s highly unlikely that the team will be able to find an upgrade in free agency or via a trade. So why not give Bortles some sense of long-term security while potentially lowing his 2018 cap hit?
It will be interesting to see what comes of this over the next several weeks. Jacksonville surely might still be keeping its options open at quarterback. But it seems to be a stretch to believe the team will move on from Bortles. Instead, the expectation now has to be that he has a long-term future in Duval.