Blake Bortles Says He Adjusted Throwing Mechanics During Offseason

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles has been hard at work during the offseason to rebound from what was a disappointing 2016 season. 

Bortles said he has concentrated in particular on improving his mechanics, per ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco:

"

The first thing we focused on was probably what everybody would guess, just trying to tighten up the release, make that as quick as possible. So never letting really the wrist get below the elbow, trying to keep that parallel and not dropping down. So that was probably the main focus and then just a couple tweaks here and there in different things.

"

3DQB, where Bortles has been working in the offseason, shared a short clip of him showing off his new throwing motion:

Bortles had an encouraging sophomore season in the NFL, throwing for a franchise-record 4,428 yards, 35 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

With increased expectations in his third year, Bortles regressed. The 24-year-old finished with 3,905 yards, 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Pro Football Focus graded him the 28th-best quarterback (52.9) in 2016, and he was the 23rd-ranked quarterback in DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) on Football Outsiders.

After going 3-13 last year, the Jaguars spent big this offseason to sign A.J. Bouye, Barry Church and Calais Campbell to improve the defense. The fact they didn't do the same on offense—and traded tight end Julius Thomas—is a show of faith in Bortles and the team's young playmakers.

Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are both a year removed from registering 1,000-yard receiving seasons, so the pieces are there for Bortles to have a bounce-back season in his fourth year.

Should the same issues plague the young passer, though, general manager Dave Caldwell may begin questioning whether Bortles—who has an option for the 2018 season—can be Jacksonville's long-term option at quarterback.