Jaguars pick up Blake Bortles’ fifth-year option
The Jacksonville Jaguars appear to be content with Blake Bortles as their quarterback — at least for another year or so.
After they chose not to draft a QB with any of their seven picks over the weekend, the Jaguars announced on Monday that they have exercised the fifth-year option on Bortles’ rookie deal.
The #Jaguars have picked up the fifth-year option for QB Blake Bortles, which Tom Coughlin calls a “smart business decision.” No-brainer.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 1, 2017
Despite a previous report insisting the Jaguars would not pick up the option, the decision was really a no-brainer. The roughly $18 million Bortles is set to earn in 2018 will be guaranteed only for injury, meaning Jacksonville can still cut him prior to the start of the 2018 league year in March without penalty.
With the 2018 NFL Draft class being considered much deeper at QB, the Jaguars will probably look to draft Bortles’ replacement then. Unless Bortles looks like a new man with Leonard Fournette in the backfield and Tom Coughlin making personnel decisions, he is still unlikely to get a long-term extension from the team.