Getty ImagesIf the Jaguars were opening the regular season this Sunday, Rashad Jennings would be the starting running back.
The Jags have two more weeks until they play a game that counts, though, and coach Mike Mularkey stopped short of saying that Jennings would be a starter when the team travels to Minnesota. That suggests Maurice Jones-Drew could still start the first game of the season if he ends his holdout and reports to the team.
Jones-Drew will have to get in pretty soon, though. He doesn’t have a playbook as a result of staying away from the Jaguars the entire offseason and Mularkey said that his chances of getting back into the starting lineup will be based on how quickly Jones-Drew picks things up upon his return to the team.
“It depends on him. What kind of shape he’s in. How fast he picks up the system. I’m not going to put him in a position where he has any chance to fail because in the long run, we all fail,” Mularkey said, via Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. “I’m not going to expose him to failure. It’s not going to happen. If he’s ready and all those conditioning wise, and he picks it up immediately, the faster he can progress, yes. I don’t know where we’re at right now. I have no idea.”
When and if Jones-Drew comes back, the Jaguars should feel less pressure to rush him back into the lineup because of how Jennings has played this summer. They can split more of the workload than originally planned while they make sure that Jones-Drew is fully ready to reclaim his role in the team’s backfield.
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MJD is right about one thing. It’s a business.
But he missed the part about not being the business owner.
See you in week 10 so you can punch your time card for the season.
Pretty sure a top 5 running back in the NFL will start for his own team
What’s the rush, they’ll be hard pressed to win a single game, with or without their best player.
Trade MJD to Detroit where he can be appreciated and not be mistreated by the owner for the team he plays for
Sounds like theyre planning to move on. I think this must be one of the most poorly-executed holdouts for a while. MJD is a great back but he has no real leverage and the owner seems unlikely to fold. RBs only have a limited career at best- wasting a year won’t help him.
Free MJD. Trade him to a NFL caliber team please!
With so much going on in the NFL right now im getting tired of hearing about MJD
“rbell2123 says:
Aug 26, 2012 11:11 AM
Trade MJD to Detroit where he can be appreciated and not be mistreated by the owner for the team he plays for”
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[i]Mistreated?[/i] You have to be kidding me. MJD is entirely in the wrong. He got a front-loaded contract and is STILL making $4.5 million a year. Please.
I agree with the comment about the trade to Detroit. However there isnt any possible way Detroit could meet MJDs demands.
I wish he would report sooner than later though. He is one of my favorite running backs of all time.
Of course you do not sit your best player, Mularkey cannot be that stupid.
Sounds like i should ask Joetoronto on my football fantasy for his prediction. Guess what I would win as much as Joetoronto predicts the jaguars will win this season on my fantasy if i pick what the looser joetoronto predicts.
Hey looser get some life outside slandering the jags.
Mularkey was Bills former coach=not successful track record there and don’t expect him to be successful with Jags…MJD will be back very soon, he’s losing money each day.
What a load of mularkey
It’s clear at his age if MJD doesn’t get a deal NOW his next contract will be veterans minimum. The difference is about 31 million dollars.
He’ll be starting for Indianapolis in Week One unless Irsay kills the deal by tweeting too much about those trade winds.
Funny, I read Mularkey’s comments as “MJD isn’t going to play until he knows the pass protection so he doesn’t get Gabbert killed.”
Remember when players “played” for the love of the game !!!!
I think “your full of Mularkey “
finish out your contract you bum
Mularkey is a great guy! He failed in Buffalo because of the talent he had to work with. Jones-Drew might want to give it a go. If he holds until week 10…..what team would risk him?
Is there a way to adjust my settings to automatically click thumbs down to everything joetoronto posts? He has never created anything of merit to these comments.
@rbell2123
Ask your owner show the appreciation by forking first round pick. MJD will be yours.
I hate MJD to leave but that would happen if the price is right.
Jags will have Jones~Drew back on the team by week one.
that’s a bunch of – malrkey – (see the connection there?) – if that happens, then Rashad Jennings should simply leave his stuff in a pile in the middle of the field and walk off! i think the owner should stand pat – finish your current contract and then we’ll talk about another one. Else, the guy who has put in the time is our guy!
Interesting comments…MJD said he wanted to finish playing his career Jacksonville, but wants to be paid…if he doesnt get in to camp that will happen…he will end his career as he knows it and his descent will begin!! Man up and make a decision already!!
Maurice Jones-Who?
The lions will treat Mjd right? Somewhere Barry sanders is laughing his ass off
Trade MJD to Detroit where he can be appreciated and not be mistreated by the owner for the team he plays for
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aside from 50 years of mediocrity (at best), yeah, go for it MJD. We all saw how much the Lions “appreciated” Sanders.
Some of you guys are HI-Larious…first of all, as several have posted, MJD asked for this contract, a front loaded contract. He made 7-8 million the first 3 years and now he is at the point where the contract is winding down. Also, thumbs down to the real genius who posted, see u in week 10, MJD is under contract for 2 more years and after seeing several Shad Khan press conferences, he would rather sit on MJD for the rest of his career (which is about 3 more years) then give him a new deal. That would set a bad precident and the Jags have several players coming into the last year of their contract that will DESERVE a new deal.
The other funny posts are the ones bashing Mularkey and calling him unsuccessful. I will be the firs to admit I wanted a big name coach in Jacksonville but Mularkey has done a heck of a job. Mularkey went 9-7, in his first year in Buffalo and took a perennial loser to the verge of the playoffs. His second year was littered with injuries and a QB controversey and Mularkey RESIGNED when the Bills had the unmitigated gaul to bring back 99 year old Marv Levy to watch over Mularkey’s shoulder. Mularkey has had phenomenal offenses everywhere he has been and he is anything but a failure.