Jacksonville Jaguars QB Blake Bortles is a winner so far in free agency

The Jacksonville Jaguars are clearly focused on upgrading the offense this offseason, and so far they’ve done quite a bit to help Blake Bortles.

The NFL is a curious beast, with a handful of rules not making any sense in the slightest.

The most comical of them might be the “legal tampering” period, a paradox that now seemingly only exists to drum up more excitement in what has a become an increasingly condensed free agency period.

Technically, free agency doesn’t begin until Wednesday, but almost all the big names had agreed to terms with teams by the end of Tuesday.

This includes the Jacksonville Jaguars, who did their best to alleviate the loss the Allen Robinson by going hard after some free agents on offense.

Gregg Rosenthal over at NFL.com went over the winners and losers after things shook out on a wild Tuesday, and he mentioned Bortles as someone who benefited.

"Blake Bortles: On a day that logically could have included the Jaguars replacing Bortles with a better option like Cousins instead included Bortles’ job getting easier. Guard Andrew Norwell, who was paid $30 million guaranteed, will only improve a punishing running game. Former receiver Donte Moncrief is hardly a replacement for Allen Robinson, but Moncrief has an awfully high ceiling as a pass-catcher. Bortles’ favorite option in 2017 Marqise Lee was also surprisingly re-signed to a lucrative four-year deal. There simply aren’t many starting quarterback jobs better than the one in Jacksonville."

Replacing Allen Robinson is the big question mark moving forward, but it’s clear the Jaguars are hoping to fill his production via multiple sources.

Norwell is the big get of course, and his presence should help the run game significantly, indirectly making Bortles’ life easier. He’s also an outstanding pass blocker, so Bortles should continue to have a workable pocket moving forward.

Marqise Lee had clearly become a favorite of Bortles and the hope with this contract has to be that he takes a big step forward now that he’s finally healthy. If not, then maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle with Moncrief, a super athletic wide receiver who hasn’t put it all together yet.

All these moves trend towards the Jaguars taking another offensive lineman or a tight end in the first round of this years draft, another move that would greatly benefit the Jacksonville signal caller.

Losing Robinson still stings, but the Jaguars are still making moves to benefit Bortles in the short and long term.