Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles a better option than Kirk Cousins?

Blake Bortles is scheduled to earn $19 million as the Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback. Should they release him in order to pursue Kirk Cousins?

The Jacksonville Jaguars came so close to their first Super Bowl appearance. Blake Bortles played error free throughout the three playoff games. Yet, some think that free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins should be pursued while cutting Bortles, a move that would save the organization $19 million.

Is Cousins really worth the pursuit, though? He has played in two playoff games. In 2013, he relieved Robert Griffin III. In 2016, he completed 29 of 46 passes for 329 yards with one touchdown and had a 91.7 quarterback rating. He lost both games, however.

In comparison, Bortles has a 2-1 record for the playoffs. He threw for 594 yards with three touchdowns while completing 49 of 85 passes through three games and had a 91 quarterback rating. Against New England, he completed 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards with one touchdown and a 98.5 quarterback rating. Which one has the better playoff statistics?

Since Cousins is the premiere free agent to pursuit, will his price tag be lower than Bortles’? Currently, the price of franchise-type quarterbacks has skyrocketed. Jimmy Garoppolo has agreed to a five-year, $137.5 million extension with San Francisco. Garoppolo has seven career starts at quarterback. Consequently, Cousins has 57 career starts. How much money will it take to sign Cousins? Most of all, has he played well enough to justify such a large payday?

Bortles is scheduled to earn $19 million in 2018 per spotrac.com. Since 2014, he has completed 1318 passes for 14928 yards with 90 touchdowns and 64 interceptions. Cousins has played six NFL seasons. In comparison to Bortles’ numbers, he has completed 54 more passes for 1278 more yards with nine more touchdowns and nine less interceptions. They are very similar, statistically.

Bortles is the better option because of salary cap implications. Suppose that the Jaguars would rather release him and save the money. There are some cheaper options than Bortles.

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First, Sam Bradford would sign for less money. He is a former number one overall draft pick. However, he has struggled throughout his career due to injuries. Next, Case Keenum could be signed for less than Bortles. Keenum led Minnesota to the NFC championship game. Finally, unless Drew Brees is willing to take less, Bortles is the guy for 2018.

Let the next season play out and decide afterwards. After all, Bortles was about 10 minutes away from leading Jacksonville to the Super Bowl.