The Jaguars were in good position to a make their first trip to the Super Bowl until Tom Brady demonstrated why he is arguably the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. Brady engineered a touchdown drive to put the Patriots, who had been trailing since early in the second quarter, ahead 24-20 with a little less than three minutes left in the AFC title game, and Jacksonville couldn't answer.

Overall, the 2017 season was a smashing success for the Jaguars. Relying primarily on a strong defense and the NFL's best rushing attack, Jacksonville returned to the playoffs for the first time in a decade. An AFC Championship game appearance last occurred for Jacksonville during the 1999 season. With the nucleus of an AFC South-winning squad remaining largely intact, the biggest offseason question facing the Jaguars is whether much-maligned quarterback Blake Bortles will remain under center. Bortles wants to stay in Jacksonville but recognizes that the decision is beyond his control.

Bortles' 2017 season

The Jaguars exercised a fifth-year option on Bortles for $19.053 million last May despite a 2016 season in which he regressed badly. This fifth year was guaranteed for injury when the option was exercised. Poor outings early in the preseason prompted Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone to put the quarterback job up for grabs. The third-overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft retained his job after responding positively to the competition.

Bortles was effective this season operating essentially as a game manager. He completed over 60 percent of his passes for the first time in his NFL career while throwing a career-low 13 interceptions. Bortles' 60.2 completion percentage ranked 24th in the NFL. He was one spot ahead of Eagles second-year quarterback Carson Wentz, who was the favorite to win league MVP before a late-season ACL tear. The 13 interceptions came on 102 fewer attempts than in 2016, when 16 of Bortles' passes were picked off.

At times during the season, Bortles looked every bit of a top pick in the draft. He was outstanding in three wins to start December. Bortles completed 71.4 percent of his passes (65 of 91) for 903 yards while throwing seven touchdowns without any interceptions to post a 128.6 passer rating in those games. The final two games of the regular season, both losses, were a cause for concern. Bortles completed only 55.6 percent of passes while throwing five interceptions as his passer rating plummeted to 58.6.

The mistakes that have plagued Bortles throughout his career were absent during the playoffs. The Jaguars didn't have any turnovers in three postseason games. A wild-card game win came with Bortles having more rushing yards (88) than passing yards (87). Bortles made his share of plays with both his arm and legs to help the Jaguars beat the Steelers 45-42 in a divisional playoffs shootout.

Bortles acquitted himself nicely against the Patriots by connecting on 23 of 36 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown. Jacksonville generated little offense on four fourth-quarter possessions, which proved costly, as the Jaguars gained 63 yards on 17 plays. The team's ultra-conservative approach at the end of the first half could be construed as a lack of confidence in Bortles. Jacksonville sat on the ball to run out the clock with just under a minute left in the half and two timeouts, preserving a 14-10 lead. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was the first time a team had taken a knee with over 50 seconds remaining in the first half all season.

Potential veteran replacements

Replacing a starting quarterback the season following a conference championship game or Super Bowl appearance isn't unprecedented but a rarity. Removing Peyton Manning, who retired after the Broncos won Super Bowl 50, from the equation, it has occurred only once in the 21st Century. The Ravens tried to upgrade by giving big money to free agent Elvis Grbac, who was coming off a 2000 season where he was third in the NFL in passing yards, instead of re-signing Trent Dilfer after winning Super Bowl XXXV. The move backfired. Grbac threw more interceptions than touchdowns during his lone season in Baltimore before retiring once the Ravens were eliminated by the Steelers in the divisional playoffs.

Typically, there is a lack of quality veteran quarterbacks available. The upcoming offseason may be one of the only times when this isn't the case. Bortles' option year becomes fully guaranteed on the first day of the 2018 league year, which starts at 4 p.m. (ET) on March 14. Jacksonville could release Bortles prior to this point without any salary-cap consequences. The $19.053 million of cap room that would be gained could come in handy for Bortles' replacement should Jacksonville decide to go in a new direction at quarterback. The Jaguars are projected to have just over $17.5 million in cap space assuming the 2018 salary cap is set at $178.1 million, which is the high end of projections given to teams at a December league meeting.

All indications are that new Giants general manager Dave Gettleman is intent on Eli Manning remaining as the team's starting quarterback next season. The Jaguars had been most frequently mentioned as a potential destination for Manning because his former head coach, Tom Coughlin, is Jacksonville's executive vice president of football operations.

It's hard to envision a realistic scenario where Drew Brees doesn't re-sign with the Saints. Brees expressed his desire to end his career in New Orleans after losing to the Vikings in the divisional playoffs. Negotiations between the Saints and Tom Condon, Brees' agent, would probably need to collapse before the 11-time Pro Bowler would explore other options. The 39 year old will likely want a two- or three-year commitment averaging more than the one-year, $24.25-million contract extension he signed in 2016.

Kirk Cousins' status will determine his viability for other teams. A third franchise tag at almost $34.5 million would virtually ensure Cousins' return to the Redskins for another season because he would be prevented from soliciting an offer sheet from other NFL teams.

Jacksonville isn't going to have the abundance of cap room necessary to create an offer sheet the Redskins couldn't match if Cousins is given a transition tag for slightly over $28.7 million. The best chance to deter matching would be to include provisions which would allow Cousins to void his contract after the 2018 or 2019 season, where he couldn't be designated as a franchise or transition player and/or fully guaranteeing all contract years or at least a portion of the latter years. An offer sheet or signing Cousins as an unrestricted free agent will likely require making him the NFL's highest paid player over Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension with an NFL-record $92 million of overall guarantees during the preseason.

The Chiefs trading up to use the 10th-overall pick in the 2017 draft on Patrick Mahomes put Smith on notice that his days in Kansas City were coming to a close. Smith, who has a year left on his contract in 2018 with a $17 million salary, responded with his best NFL season as the Chiefs won the AFC West. He led the NFL with a career-best 104.7 passer rating. Smith's 67.5 completion percentage was third best in the league. His also set career bests in passing yards (4,042) and touchdown passes (26) while throwing only five interceptions. The Chiefs have made the playoffs four out of five years and haven't had a losing season since acquiring Smith from the 49ers in 2013, but have only one postseason win with him.

There has been speculation that the Browns will have interest in trading for Smith, who turns 34 in May, since new general manager John Dorsey held the same position with Kansas City when he was acquired. Kansas City would be justified in seeking similar compensation as the Eagles got from the Redskins in a 2010 trade for a 33-year-old Donovan McNabb. He went for a 2010 second-round pick (37th overall) and a 2011 fourth-round pick.

It would probably make sense to sign Smith to an extension after giving up significant draft capital to get him. His current contract, which was signed in 2014 when the salary cap was $133 million, averages $17 million per year and contained $45 million in guarantees. An equivalent deal in a 2018 salary-cap environment would average right around $23 million with approximately $60 million in guarantees.

Case Keenum taking a one-year deal worth a maximum of $2.5 million from the Vikings after languishing on the open market for about a month wasn't supposed to be an impact signing. He became Minnesota's most important acquisition because of starting quarterback Sam Bradford's knee problems. Keenum helped the Vikings win the NFC North with a 13-3 record, which tied for best in the NFL, and secure a first-round playoff bye before losing to the Eagles in the NFC Championship game. In 15 games (14 starts), Keenum threw for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He connected on 67.6 percent of his passes, which was second in the NFL, and had the league's seventh-best passer rating at 98.6.

A transition tag for approximately $21 million or a non-exclusive franchise designation in the $23 million neighborhood is a distinct possibility for Keenum despite a subpar game against the Eagles. Keenum has probably put himself in a position to land a contract with at least the type of money Mike Glennon received from the Bears in free agency as a more unproven commodity. Glennon signed a three-year, $45 million deal, which is destined to become $18.5 million for a single season in Chicago because it took him only four games to lose his starting job to 2017 second-overall pick Mitchell Trubisky.

Final thoughts

Jacksonville currently has a window of opportunity to be Super Bowl contenders because of a good mix of quality veterans from free agency and high caliber players still on rookie contracts. A decision needs to be made about whether Bortles is capable of winning a championship with a talented roster.

A conservative approach by the Jaguars means Bortles will probably be back next season. Trying to negotiate a lower salary before the full guarantee kicks in isn't customary with players on a fifth-year option. Only Aldon Smith has modified payment. In 2015, Smith agreed to a series of roster bonuses and incentives where he could still make the full-option amount. This was to prevent being released by the 49ers because of off-the-field problems. Smith wore out his welcome with the 49ers when more issues with his conduct arose that preseason. Bortles' performance throughout the 2018 season would decide his fate in Jacksonville by taking this tack.

Finding an upgrade at quarterback will be paramount if a guiding principle is what would have been done without the option year being picked up. Nobody would criticize Jacksonville for declining the option, because a more costly transition or franchise tag would otherwise be inevitable.