RB Maurice Jones-Drew to sit out Jacksonville Jaguars OTAs, partly due to deal issue-NFL News
Running back, Maurice Jones-Drew, will reportedly miss the Jacksonville Jaguars’ organised team activities (OTAs), starting from Tuesday, May 15.
He is another player to sit out the OTAs as kicker, Josh Scobee, has already been ruled out due to pending signing of the assigned franchise tender. Both players have already skipped the voluntary offseason workout.
Irrespective of the deal issue Scobee is currently facing and his consequent exit, Drew’s absence does not come as a surprise. The player prefers to do individual workout in his home town, California.
Most importantly, maintaining fitness to remain in shape has never been a problem for him. He often deserts his teammates in the offseason and preseason workout and other activities.
Yet the matter of the deal is reportedly a reason behind his decision of skipping the workout this time. Drew has two more years left on his deal with $9.5 million remaining on it.
He is said to have demanded adjustment to the deal and apparently there is no response from the Jaguars if they would be weighing his demand.
Drew’s demand is seen in line with the assigning of deals to some of his peers from other teams on average per year value, last year. A formal reply from Jaguars will determine if he has such a chance, this year.
He is a Pro Bowler and matters most in the squad.
Jaguars were interested to have him in the squad during the OTAs as his presence was seen to be significant given that the team’s activities would be supervised by Mike Mularkey, the team’s new head coach, for the first time.
Mularkey has joined Jaguars in January this year and the OTAs are going to be his first practical assignment at Jacksonville. He has replaced former coach, Del Rio, who was sacked by the previous management.
Moreover, the team is coming out on the field with the new owner, Shahid Khan, for the first time. Khan has bought the club for $760 million from the previous owner, Wayne Weaver.
He said to be very ambitious to see his team become a consistent winner. Only next season’s performance will show if Jaguars come up to his expectations.
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