Through the last few seasons, the Jacksonville Jaguars have steadily built one of the league's top defensive units with promising young talent across the board. One of those pieces to the puzzle is defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., who has become a key asset on the defensive line.

Despite taking a significant step forward in the 2017 campaign, the Jaguars have elected to pass on picking up the $14.2 million fifth-year option on his rookie deal for the 2019 season, according to Mike Garafolo of The NFL Network.

Jacksonville has made the decision to not pick up that option due to the significant hike in salary that would make him one of the top-paid players at his position. Fowler Jr. did show some significant strides forward this past season recording a career-best 8.0 sacks with a pair of forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, but the team wants to make sure that isn't a one-year spike in production.

What could have an influence on this decision is that he has been involved a few off-the-field incidents over his brief NFL career. Back in March, he had pleaded no contest to charges of battery, criminal mischief and petit theft that were linked to his arrest last July. He was sentenced to a year of probation along with 75 hours of community service and a $925 fine.

He was also involved in another arrest of where he charged with assault against a police offer and resisting without violence. On top of that, Fowler was seen in a video being involved in a possible fight between his girlfriend and mother of his child early last year that he later apologized publicly for the incident.

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In response to this decision on Fowler's contract, Tom Coughlin, who is the executive vice president of football operations, released a statement voicing that the team is hoping that the 23-year-old can show that he can earn a long-term deal to remain in Jacksonville.

If Fowler Jr. continues his upward trajectory, he could easily become one of the long-term centerpieces of the puzzle on the defensive line next to Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue for the next several seasons. The Jaguars have built their identity through their play on that side of the ball, which could lend itself to the team committing to a new multi-year deal with the Florida product puts together another strong season.

Nonetheless, this lines up Fowler Jr. to potentially hit the free-agent market next March where he could become one of the most sought out players in the league. All of this will only further emphasize the importance of his play in the 2018 season as it will have a major impact on what his next deal will look like.