The Jacksonville Jaguars must have committed themselves to their quarterback of the future. Blake Bortles will continue to lead the team for the next three years. The 25-year-old, who would have been bound to the team in the next season anyway, is expected to earn 54 million dollars during the contract period, 26.5 million of which are guaranteed. This is reported by NFL insider Ian Rapoport.
“I have no idea how all this works, so I told my advisor,’ Let’s just do it quickly so I can focus on football. I just want to get confirmation that I can expect to be here next year.'”Bortles explained the contract negotiations to the media.
The 25-year-old would have been under contract in Jacksonville in the 2018 season anyway, as the Jaguars had taken the option for the fifth year in his rookie contract. The new contract results in a lower cap hit for Jacksonville than the previous $19.3 million for next season. The decision at the moment, however, is surprising in view of an interesting free agency class on the quarterback position.
“Blake’s development was an important key to our success last season,”said Jaguars Vice President Tom Coughlin in a press release,”Blake has proven with his rigour and reliability that he can be the team’s leader for the next few years. With this treaty, there are also high expectations that it will continue to improve and ultimately achieve the ultimate goal.”
Bortles was pulled by Jacksonville in the draft of 2014 with the third pick and often had to cope with strong performance fluctuations. The past season can certainly be described as the best that Bortles played in his career. He tossed for 3687 yards and 21 touchdowns at 13 interceptions.
His performance in the AFC Divisional Round at the Pittsburgh Steelers showed that he is also convincing in the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Jaguars were expected to seek Kirk Cousins or another available quarterback in the upcoming Free Agency to lead the franchise to a Super Bowl run with one of the most potent defensive units in the league.