The decision to extend Blake Bortles' contract doesn't stem from the [url=http://www.authenticsanjosesharks.com/authentic-joonas-donskoi-jersey]ht... quarterback's ability. It isn't a product of what he showed in the postseason during two impressive games against the Steelers and Patriots or, alternately, in a dismal effort at home against the Bills.
Jacksonville's decision to re-sign Bortles is a product of a questionable decision the Jaguars made last year -- it seemed questionable at the time and has grown worse with some perspective. It's also a reflection on where [url=http://www.nikeeaglesjerseysshop.com/chris-long-jersey-for-sale-c-62.htm... Long Authentic Jersey[/url] this team is going and whether the Jags can build upon an impressive 2017 season to take that final leap past the Patriots and into the Super Bowl.
Last May, the Jaguars decided to exercise Bortles' fifth-year option, which gave the team another year of cost control on their enigmatic quarterback through the 2018 season.
The fifth-year option for players taken in the top 10 of the draft is rather expensive for quarterbacks,given that it represents the average salary of the top 10 players at the position. For Bortles, that fifth-year option [url=http://www.nikeeaglesjerseysshop.com/chris-long-jersey-for-sale-c-62.htm... was more than $19 million.
The salary is guaranteed only for injury, so in most cases, teams that regret the move can just cut the player and move on without any penalty. Players who can't pass a physical by the beginning of the new league year (in March) remain on the cap and get paid,even if they can't play, as will likely be the case for Ryan Shazier in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers naturally couldn't have anticipated in May that their star inside [img]http://www.authentictigershop.com/images//mlb_jerseys_new/detroit_tigers... linebacker would suffer a career-threatening spinal injury six months later, but for Pittsburgh, the reward of having another year of cost control over Shazier was worth the risk that he would suffer a serious injury.
Likewise, the Jaguars were about to be stuck paying Bortles $19 million for an injury he had when Jacksonville signed him to the extension. The UCF product suffered a wrist injury during the final month of the 2016 season, which the Jaguars elected to treat with shots in the hopes of avoiding surgery.
The Jags then picked up Bortles' option last May all while knowing he had a wrist injury that [url=http://www.authenticsanjosesharks.com/authentic-marc-edouard-vlasic-jers... Vlasic Authentic Jersey[/url] might require surgery after the 2017 campaign. The wrist got worse as the 2017 season went on, requiring Bortles to undergo surgery after the season ended in late January.
A move that seemed iffy at the time without public knowledge of the injury and looked downright foolish once the Jags briefly benched Bortles during the preseason for Chad Henne only looks worse now.
Given the likelihood that Bortles would be unable to pass a physical and subsequently be [url=http://www.authenticsanjosesharks.com/authentic-marc-edouard-vlasic-jers... guaranteed $19 million before hitting free agency next season, the Jaguars made the decision to tender him a three-year, $54 million deal with $26.5 million guaranteed at signing.
The fifth-year option was a sunk cost, and the Jaguars didn't make a terrible move by handing Bortles this deal, but it raises questions about their thought process heading into 2018 and beyond.