The big news of the weekend broke last night, when the Jaguars and Blake Bortles struck an extension that will keep the former No. 3 overall pick in Jacksonville through the 2020 campaign. Bortles was already under club control through the 2018 season thanks to the fifth-year option that the Jags had previously exercised, but the new deal — which includes a fairly modest amount of guaranteed money — will give Bortles the ability to realize his potential in Jacksonville while not precluding the team from pursuing other QB options if it needs to. Plus, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported this morning, Bortles’ cap number for 2018 will be reduced from the $19MM fifth-year option number to just $10MM, thereby giving the Jags more room to work this offseason (Twitter link).
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter) adds more details on Bortles’ deal, reporting that the entire $26.5MM in guaranteed money is guaranteed at signing, that Bortles will get $20MM in the first year of the deal and $16MM in the second year, and that incentives like earning Super Bowl MVP honors can push the total value of the contract to $66.5MM.
Now for more from the AFC, starting with another item on Bortles:
- Bortles played the entire 2017 campaign with a wrist injury, and he underwent surgery on the wrist after the season. Per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com, the injury consisted of a partially torn ligament on the outside of the wrist and inflammation on the top of it, but Bortles said he is on schedule in his recovery and expects to be cleared with no restrictions in early March. Given what transpired last night, the Jaguars are obviously comfortable with Bortles’ progress.
- The Jets are expected to be aggressive in the bidding for Kirk Cousins, but as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com observes, Cousins has compiled a meager 4-19 mark against teams with winning records, and Cimini says if the Jets view him as a savior and open up the vault for him, they are letting desperation cloud their judgment. In any event, New York should have a pretty good idea of where it stands with respect to its own free agents and players from other clubs (like Cousins) at the end of this week. The NFL scouting combine begins on Tuesday, and in addition to evaluating collegiate prospects, teams use that time to meet with player agents.
- The Patriots are currently near the bottom of the league in terms of salary cap space, but with most of their key players under contract, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe says New England will have plenty of room to operate as it sees fit this offseson. Plus, as Volin notes, the team can add another $17MM of cap space by cutting ties with some obvious release candidates like tight ends Martellus Bennett and Dwayne Allen. Volin also lays out a roadmap for the rest of the Pats’ offseason, which includes keeping Rob Gronkowski happy, re-signing Nate Solder, and letting Malcolm Butler walk.
- We learned yesterday that the Steelers and Martavis Bryant may be headed for a parting of the ways.
4-19 vs. teams with winning records, but what were Cousins’ numbers like against those teams? Was he on his butt the whole game? Did the defense show up? Did Gruden’s poor clock management cost them a win? Too many variables.
I guess the Jaguars are comfortable with coming up short in the postseason for the next few seasons being their ceiling. Good for them.
Cousins is way overrated. Jets should draft a QB from where they are or trade up to get one. Not worth the money he’s gonna get. Their fans are probably used to one dumb decision after another at QB though.
As a NYJ fan I want them to draft a QB, even though every time they do it ends in sorrow. Signing Cousins would improve the team to a certain extent. But his ceiling is limited and he won’t give us the false hope that a high draft choice does. And that’s really all we ever have.