The Jacksonville Jaguars are pushing back against the narrative that they’ve given Blake Bortles a new contract as a place-holder until they can come up with a better option.
General manager Dave Caldwell said Wednesday that the Jaguars’ intention is to keep Bortles around long-term, and that he’s not simply there because they can’t do better right now.
“I thought he had a nice year,” Caldwell said, via Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com. “The one thing I know about him is that he is mentally and physically tough as they come. For everything he has been through and all of the things people say he can’t do – he has proven that he can do it.
“He is not a place-holder. This wasn’t a decision where he’s going to be here for a year and we’re going to be keeping our eyes out.”
Caldwell doesn’t necessarily have to be telling the truth, but they did give him a fair bit of guaranteed money here. Still, it makes sense that the Jaguars would take things year-by-year with Bortles. They saw enough in 2017 to give him the chance to continue his growth.
