With great doubt about Rashad Jennings’ status for Week Two, it doesn’t feel like we’re too far away from a return to status quo for the Jaguars offense.
Maurice Jones-Drew will be the starting running back if Jennings isn’t able to play because of his knee injury and it is hard to believe he won’t stay in that role through the end of the season. Assuming that comes to pass, all of the sound and fury accompanying his holdout this summer will have amounted to not much more than conversation fodder during a slow time in the NFL season.
Except for those fines, that is. According to reports over the weekend, the Jaguars decided to fine Jones-Drew $800,000 instead of the $1.6 million that he could have faced as a result of his decision to stay away from the team during mandatory minicamp and training camp. Jones-Drew was asked about those fines on Wednesday and said that there’s no truth to the report.
“Make sure you guys report that was false,” Jones-Drew said, via Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union.
Jones-Drew didn’t say how much he was fined or if he was fined at all as a result of his futile attempt to get the Jaguars to give him a new contract this season. The team has been tight-lipped on that front as well. Ultimately, it isn’t really information that anyone but Jones-Drew or the Jaguars need to know. If they’ve been able to figure out a situation that works for both sides, that’s really all that matters.
If they haven’t, we’ll almost certainly find out about it when they butt heads about the contract again later this season or in the offseason.