The Jacksonville Jaguars extended Blake Bortles for two more seasons, hoping that he can lead them to a Super Bowl alongside a great defense.
On Saturday night, the news broke that the Jacksonville Jaguars were staking their belief in Blake Bortles. After reaching the AFC Championship Game in January, the franchise had the choice of honoring Borltes’ fifth-year option at $19 million or walking away from the former first-round picking going in another direction.
Jacksonville chose the former and then some, giving Bortles a two-year extension to bring the contract’s total value to three years and $54 million.
Bortles was widely viewed as a bust after his first three seasons, and frankly, there’s reason to suggest that opinion shouldn’t totally change after 2017. While the Jaguars had success as a team, Bortles was largely schemed around by head coach Doug Marrone, utilizing a power running game and an awesome defense to advance through the playoffs.
In their AFC Wild Card win, Bortles threw for 87 yards on 3.87 yards per attempt in a 10-3 win over the Buffalo Bills. The following week, Bortles went 14-of-26 for 214 yards in an upset victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oddly enough, his best effort was in Foxborough, where he hot on 23-of-36 attempts for 293 yards in defeat.
Still, there is ample reason to like this deal for both sides.
In 2017, Bortles threw for 3,687 yards in the regular season, ranking 11th in the league. The former South Florida star also launched 21 touchdown (16th) against 13 interceptions (T-7th) on 7.05 YPA (17th). In essence, Bortles was an average quarterback, and his salary reflects that.
Looking at the structure of his contract, Bortles will get $10 million this season before the cap hit jumps to $21 million in 2019. Jacksonville is essentially locked into those two years with a third year at $23 million, although the dead money would be only $5 million to release him prior to the 2020 season.
In reality, Bortles’ contract is two years at $31 million. For the quarterback, he gets security and a payday that ought to last him a lifetime. For Jacksonville, it gets stability and two more years to see whether its investment can pan out. Considering the strides he made throughout last season, it’s not a bad bet on a 25-year-old.
Of course, the big risk is whether or not the Jaguars are throwing away potential Super Bowl years with Bortles at the helm. It has to be stated that while he displays competence at times, the third-overall pick in the 2014 draft can also appear utterly lost. There are far too many games where Bortles can’t complete a simple throw, something the tape of the aforementioned Wild Card game would display.
The Jaguars are built to win now, based largely on the best defense we’ve seen since the Denver Broncos of a few years ago. The secondary is loaded with Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, Tashaun Gipson and Barry Church. The front seven has all kinds of talent in Yannick Ngakoue, Calais Campbell, Myles Jack, Telvin Smith, Abry Jones, Marcell Dareus and Dante Fowler Jr.
With that collection, Jacksonville has to be thinking championship in 2018. If Bortles doesn’t continue to progress, that isn’t happening. Great defenses still win in the NFL, but without a quality quarterback, you’re up the creek.
If Bortles can simply become consistently competent, the Jaguars have a sweetheart deal in place and a title contender ready to roll. If not, they just signed a large chunk of their window into a dark abyss.
Power rankings
Top 10 fits in free agency
1. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings
2. Le’Veon Bell, San Francisco 49ers
3. Malcolm Butler, Detroit Lions
4. Ezekiel Ansah, New England Patriots
5. Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears
6. Trumaine Johnson, Indianapolis Colts
7. Paul Richardson, New Orleans Saints
8. LaMarcus Joyner, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9. Dion Lewis, Green Bay Packers
10. Andrew Norwell, Houston Texans
Quotable
"“No one wants to compete and get after it more than Dez,” Jones said. “At the same time, we all know this is a business where everybody has to be accountable. Certainly everybody knows that. That’s a tough one. Certainly we’re going to be grinding it out and trying to determine what is in the best interest of our business…”"
– Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones on Dez Bryant’s future with the team
Jones’s comments are easy to translate: the Cowboys want to restructure, work out a pay cut or move on. Bryant, 29, is due $16.5 million in 2018, but could be cut with a savings of $8.5 million. If Dallas released him with a post-June 1 designation, the dead money would be split between this season and next, saving an additional $4 million against this year’s cap.
Bryant hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2014. Despite being targeted 133 times last year, he caught only 69 passes for 838 yards and six touchdowns.
Podcast
Matt Verderame and Josh Hill break down all the franchise tag possibilities, the insanity around Marcus Peters and what to watch for in the NFL Combine. Check out their newest Stacking The Box episode every Monday both on iTunes and FanSided’s Facebook page!
Random stat
In 1975, the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Oilers went a combined 21-3 in the regular season against all teams except the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh swept both teams to win the AFC Central before winning Super Bowl X, their second straight championship.
Info learned this week
1. Rams trade for Marcus Peters
The Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs pulled off a stunning trade on Friday afternoon, sending All-Pro corner Marcus Peters to the City of Angels. Peters, 25, is a two-time All-Pro and has a pair of Pro Bowl appearances, making him one of the great, young corners in the game.
Los Angeles will use him to replace Trumaine Johnson, who is scheduled to hit free agency in the coming weeks. The Rams will save a considerable amount of money in the swap, with Peters only due $1.7 million this year, with a fifth-year option for $9.5 million next year. Johnson is likely to command upwards of $15 million per season on the open market.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs are in a full-fledged rebuild of their defense. After acquiring star corner Kendall Fuller in the Alex Smith trade, general manager Brett Veach signed David Amerson to a one-year deal before releasing the franchise’s all-time leading tackler in Derrick Johnson. Then, with the Peters deal (the return is still unknown), Veach left no doubt that things will look far different in Arrowhead Stadium this fall.
2. Jets quest for Cousins has conflicting reports
On Monday, Rich Cimini of ESPN reported that the New York Jets would pay almost any price to land Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, the soon-to-be jewel of the free agent class. Then, on Friday, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News confirmed the interest in Cousins, but stated the willingness to sign him at any cost is vastly overblown.
So what’s the story? New York clearly wants Cousins, but there’s a limit for every team. Cousins’ camp will want something approaching $30 million per year with near $100 million in guarantees, setting records in both departments. New York must be willing to go to these lengths to be in the bidding, and will likely be joined by the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals. A darkhorse to watch is the Minnesota Vikings, who could value Cousins mroe than all three of its current quarterbacks.
3. Bills willing to stick with Taylor in ’18
After starting Nathan Peterman during the heat of a playoff race last year, most believed Tyrod Taylor would be changing addresses come this offseason. Apparently, that’s not happening. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting that the Bills are willing to pay the $6 million roster bonus due to Taylor on March 16, all but assuring he remains in western New York.
The only caveat to this would be if Buffalo can quickly land an upgrade in free agency. If not, look for Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane to investigate moving up in the draft to land Taylor’s eventual replacement. The Bills have the ammunition, holding the 21st and 22nd-overall selections after moving back a year ago, allowing the Kansas City Chiefs to land Patrick Mahomes.
4. Dolphins place tag on Jarvis Landry
The Miami Dolphins didn’t wait long to make their intentions known on receiver Jarvis Landry. On the first night it was allowed by league rules, the Dolphins slapped the franchise tag on Landry. The cost is $16 million for this year, making it virtually impossible for Miami to upgrade the team elsewhere without restructuring/releasing some larger contracts.
There’s also the possibility that Miami could trade Landry, but that would include the former LSU standout signing the tender. If that happens, the Dolphins could try to ship him elsewhere for a return of picks. If they can’t find a taker, he can still be released and the cap hold comes off the books. If Miami wants to sign him long-term, it has through mid-July to work something out before being barred from talks until after the season ends.
5. NFL Scouting Combine starts on Saturday
The unofficial start of the offseason begins on Saturday, when the first groups of players hit the field in Indianapolis. This year, the quarterbacks will be watched even closer than normal, with Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen being a few of the more intriguing performers.
Quarterback-needy teams at the top of the draft will watch their every rep, but it will be the interviews that weigh as much — if not more — into their decisions down the line. The Cleveland Browns and New York Giants hold the first two picks and seem destined to land a signal-caller. The performances but that quintet over the next week will help in determining who goes where.
History lesson
Al Davis is remembered as the maverick owner of the Oakland Raiders, but he actually began his career elsewhere. Davis was hired as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960, the first year of the American Football League.
Davis spent three years in that role before being hired as head coach of the Raiders in 1963, turning a one-win team into a 10-4 outfit. Davis also switched the uniforms from black and gold to silver and black in 1963, giving the team its iconic look.
By 1966, Davis had ascended to both the AFL commissioner and part-owner of the Raiders before taking the majority stake in 1972.
Parting shot
The Carolina Panthers will be an interesting team to watch this offseason. After going 11-5 and reaching the playoffs, Carolina has to take the next step under general manager Marty Hurney. The Panthers have needs at wide receiver, corner and guard, assuming Andrew Norwell takes his All-Pro talents elsewhere.
With only $20 million under the cap, Hurney must be proactive in landing second-tier free agents that fit the scheme. One name to watch here is Sammy Watkins. Watkins has been inconsistent throughout his career, but at 24 years old, he remains a player with high upside. Pairing his attributes with Cam Newton’s willingness to throw into a tight space could be a nice pairing.
With the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons primed for more success in 2018, the Panthers have to keep pace. Landing a few on-the-rise free agents and a solid draft class would go a long way.