01-31-2014, 10:34 AM
Boy, it doesn't matter what channel you tune to this week. Whether it's on TV, in print, or on the radio, the talk is pretty much the same. As MJD is making the rounds with the media in NY as part of the lead-up to the Super Bowl, it sounds like it's a foregone conclusion he's played his last game in a Jaguars uniform.
It really seems like the front office is allowing him to test free agency to get a sense for his value, and whatever he brings back to the team as an offer will be higher than they're willing to go. It's a smart play for Caldwell to sit back and let the market take MJD rather than to appear as if they had no desire to retain the services of a player who is still popular among the fans.
I do think MJD will have other teams interested in his services, and they'll be more than willing to overpay him based on past performances. While I would have loved to see Jones-Drew finish his career as a Jaguar, his decline due to injury and mileage over the past couple of years can't be ignored. He's on the back end of his career, and not worth a big or even middling contract at this point.
He may very well move on and have a somewhat productive year for another team. But, it's just as likely he'll give another team similar production to what we've seen over the past couple of seasons as those injuries and that mileage continue to hamper his game.
In watching, hearing, or reading these reports, it's clear he won't be a Jaguar next season, ending a chapter for one of the better players this franchise has ever had the privilege to have on the roster.
The team will survive, and I would imagine they'll find a new star to fill that role. For his time here in Jacksonville, he really was the most visible player on the roster, and a media favorite. Even with the holdout and the incident with the bouncer, I don't think he tainted his legacy too much. It's a shame he can't end things where he started, but that's the way things go in the modern NFL.
It really seems like the front office is allowing him to test free agency to get a sense for his value, and whatever he brings back to the team as an offer will be higher than they're willing to go. It's a smart play for Caldwell to sit back and let the market take MJD rather than to appear as if they had no desire to retain the services of a player who is still popular among the fans.
I do think MJD will have other teams interested in his services, and they'll be more than willing to overpay him based on past performances. While I would have loved to see Jones-Drew finish his career as a Jaguar, his decline due to injury and mileage over the past couple of years can't be ignored. He's on the back end of his career, and not worth a big or even middling contract at this point.
He may very well move on and have a somewhat productive year for another team. But, it's just as likely he'll give another team similar production to what we've seen over the past couple of seasons as those injuries and that mileage continue to hamper his game.
In watching, hearing, or reading these reports, it's clear he won't be a Jaguar next season, ending a chapter for one of the better players this franchise has ever had the privilege to have on the roster.
The team will survive, and I would imagine they'll find a new star to fill that role. For his time here in Jacksonville, he really was the most visible player on the roster, and a media favorite. Even with the holdout and the incident with the bouncer, I don't think he tainted his legacy too much. It's a shame he can't end things where he started, but that's the way things go in the modern NFL.