Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew has missed six straight games since suffering a foot injury in Week Seven, but there’s a chance he’ll finally return to the field on Sunday.
Just not a very good chance: Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey said today that Jones-Drew is “very questionable” for Sunday’s game against the Jets.
The Jaguars lost Jones-Drew’s backup, Rashad Jennings, to a concussion on Sunday, so if Jacksonville had anything to play for, the loss of Jennings might add to the urgency to get Jones-Drew back on the field. But with nothing to play for other than perhaps the first overall pick in the draft, it seems unlikely that the Jaguars would rush Jones-Drew back at less than 100 percent.
After leading the league in rushing last year, Jones-Drew got off to a solid start this year despite holding out for the entire offseason in an unsuccessful attempt to get the Jaguars to give him a new contract. But the injury has derailed his season and sends him into the offseason with even less leverage in contract negotiations.
If Jones-Drew and Jennings are both out, the Jaguars would likely go with a combination of Montell Owens and Richard Murphy at running back against the Jets, in a game that could set offensive football back 50 years.