Rumors: Jacksonville Jaguars to decline Blake Bortles’ fifth-year option, making sense of it all
By Luke Sims
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles has not been particularly good in his brief tenure with the team, sparking a rumor that his fifth-round option may be declined.
Ryan O’Halloran’s prediction that the Jacksonville Jaguars won’t pick up Blake Bortles’ fifth-year option has suddenly become a bonafide NFL rumor, making the rounds here on FanSided, CBS, and others. The prediction (labeled a “guess” by O’Halloran) is hidden in the depths of a contract extension piece over at the Florida Times-Union.
Writes O’Halloran:
"…this is a guess on what the Jaguars will do:* Bortles: Won’t pick up the fifth-year option."
The prediction is in contrast to O’Halloran’s earlier prediction before the 2016 season that Bortles would be extended (something he addresses in his column). The NFL is a results-driven league and Bortles’ inability to follow up on 2015’s breakout campaign with a satisfactory performance in 2016 certainly has raised the uncertainty of the quarterback position.
That alone makes this a valid prediction, but not necessarily a rumor that the Jags are currently floating the idea that Bortles’ fifth-year option won’t be taken. Bortles is a turnover machine, but he’s also a quarterback that has shown he can put in the work to get better and then be better, which is rare in the NFL. In a world where Mike Glennon gets $15 million per year, a quarterback with Bortles’ big-play potential is valuable.
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Whether that value is enough for the Jags to keep him around remains to be seen. A fifth-year option is likely cheaper than what Bortles may command on the open market if the Jags opt not to pick it up and suddenly realize he is the franchise passer they hoped he would become. Some other team may be willing to bid up his services.
Ultimately, however, it will come down to what executive vice president for football operations Tom Coughlin sees. The value of hanging onto a player like Bortles for one more year relatively cheaply at the game’s most important position, even if he doesn’t end up as a starter, may make it worth picking up the option. Only so many quarterbacks are capable of what Bortles accomplished in 2015 with 35 passing touchdowns and 4400+ yards. It’ll be tough to find another one.