Jacksonville Jaguars: 5 offseason needs

For some, this might be the No. 1 need for the Jaguars. But the biggest enigma is what Jacksonville will be getting out of Blake Bortles going forward. In his first four seasons in the league, he has certainly had his ups and downs as a professional signal caller. Though he shined at times in 2015 and last year, his third year in 2016 was a disaster of so many proportions. His mechanics were all over the place.

Jacksonville has agreed to extend its fifth-year option to the former No. 3 overall draft pick out of UCF in 2014. Bortles stands to make eight figures in 2018, but is undergoing offseason wrist surgery. Was 2017 a sign of good things to come for Bortles or should we expect a regression in year five?

Either way, Bortles’ backup in Chad Henne will be hitting free agency this spring. Henne could be brought back, but he’s never shown an ability to challenge Bortles for the starting job since 2014. Jacksonville could look to upgrade in the backup quarterback department with the likes of a Drew Stanton or a Matt Moore, both of whom are better than Henne and will be free agents this spring.

Jacksonville may be in win-now mode, but will likely have to tread water for at least one more year with Bortles at quarterback before moving on. Taking a mid-round selection in the upcoming draft could be in play, but it’s more likely that the Jaguars will target a high-end backup in the free agent class should anything bad happen to Bortles next fall. It’s better to be safe than sorry.