The Jaguars are making sure they lock up their QB for the future, giving their starting QB for the 2017 season, Blake Bortles, a new three-year contract, keeping him in Jacksonville until 2020. Giving Bortles this contract extension raises a lot of eyebrows, as he has only shown small flashes of being a franchise QB. The Jags are hoping Bortles can build off of his decent season last year, and help an already great Jaguars team to the next level.

The right guy?

The contract Bortles received is a three-year extension worth $54 million, according to ESPN.

That is a lot of money for a QB who has thrown double-digit interceptions all four years of his career, also according to ESPN. Bortles hasn't been anything special since he was drafted third overall in 2014, failing to complete over 62 percent of his passes in each of those four seasons. He also failed to reach a QBR of over 60 in his first four seasons (ESPN). Bortles has failed to give any inclination that he is a future franchise QB, but the Jaguars feel that he is worth the investment.

The Jaguars picked up the fifth-year option on Bortles, which seemed like they were giving him one last shot to prove his worth to the up and coming Jaguar franchise. There were rumors swirling that the Jags were looking to sign soon-to-be-free-agent Kirk Cousins, as he could've been the piece the Jags need to make themselves the favorite in the AFC.

Bortles has had his struggles in the NFL, specifically with his turnovers, but the Jacksonville Front Office is confident he can progress this offseason and be a great quarterback.

The rise of the Jags

Despite Blake Bortles' struggles his first few season in the NFL, simply looking at his stats won't tell the entire story. Bortles has sneaky athleticism which he uses to extend plays and even run for a first down or two throughout the course of a game.

He also has a tendency to give up the game late with turnovers, but those days seem to be behind him.

The Jags front office did a great job of placing talent around Bortles, as they now have a top five defense and a young star in Leonard Fournette. With Bortles at the helm, they were a couple minutes away from a trip to Super Bowl LII.

The Jags extending their QB could mean two things: They believe that Bortles will make the jump and become a better QB and start to lead this Jags defense or they feel confident in the pieces around him and believe that defense can take them to where they need to go.

With this extension Jacksonville gave to Bortles, they are all in on their 2014 draft pick, hoping he can turn the curve in year five of his career. Bortles has shown flashes of what he could become this past season, but this year it needs to be more consistent. With a dominant defense and a powerful run game, it is now Bortles' chance to up his game and prove all his doubters wrong.
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