No sign of RB Maurice Jones-Drew’s return as Jacksonville Jaguars refuse fresh terms – NFL News
The Jacksonville Jaguars and rebellious running back Maurice Jones-Drew are nowhere closer to finding a common ground on the latter’s demand for negotiations of fresh deal terms that can pave the way for his return to the squad in the near future.
As of Thursday, Maurice was on holdout to protest the Jaguars’ refusal to work out a new contract for him.
A new deal is less likely in the wake of owner Shahid Khan’s statement that they will not give Jones a new deal. Earlier, general manager Gene Smith had spoken of the same stance.
The RB yet remains stubborn, refusing to return unless the team offers him fresh and better terms. He has missed the entire offseason programme. This includes the three-day mandatory minicamp, which made him prone to receiving the penalty of $60,000 fine.
Later, he could have been fined $30,000 for each day he sat out of training camp but this did not force him to end the protest.
The Jaguars have not opted for levy of the penalty on him so far and there is no indication if they will do so in the future. The team has now placed MJD on the reserve/did not report list, and he is expected to remain on it until a breakthrough is made
on the compelling deal matter.
Second year quarterback Blaine Gabbert earlier at training camp attempted to justify and back the player’s choice of protest, saying it was a part of the business. He said:
"It's part of the business. We can't dwell on that. We can't harp on the fact that he's not here. He'll be here in due time. He'll learn the offense when he gets here. We know what Mo's going to bring to the table day in and day out, game in and game out.
He led the league in rushing last year and he's going to do that again this year."
In spite of Blaine’s optimism that Jones will be with the team in the due course, no side is willing to speculate his return. Some commentators see the issue lingering until September - the time for Jaguars to begin the regular season campaign.
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