The Jaguars have a pair of potential headaches on their hands when it comes to contracts.
They still haven’t signed first-rounder Justin Blackmon, amid indications they want a little protection after his drunk driving arrest.
And they still don’t know if running back Maurice Jones-Drew is coming to camp, according to Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.
Coach Mike Mularkey said he wasn’t sure about the status of last year’s league-leading rusher, and hasn’t been in contact with him since he skipped the entire offseason program in hopes of a new deal. The Jags report to camp Thursday.
“Every player had to sign that they got the information in regards to training camp. Somebody signed at the [Jones-Drew] household we sent it to. Everybody is aware of when it starts, when they have to be here,’’ Mularkey said.
Mularkey didn’t get into a lot of specifics, such as whether they’d fine Jones-Drew (a maximum of $30,000 per day) if he’s absent.
“The one thing I will not do is send a message through the media,” Mularkey said. “I hopefully will never do that by accident. We’ll deal with the players who are here and are hoping he is one of them.”
Former Jags running back Fred Taylor has already weighed in, saying he doesn’t expect Jones-Drew on time.
Other, younger backs have gotten new deals this offseason, so maybe things are thawing at the position. But Jones-Drew also knows this is likely his last good chance to cash in, so it bears watching to see how he chooses to proceed.