Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon finished strong in 2012, catching 25 passes and scoring two touchdowns in the final four games of the season.
It looks like we’re going to have to wait a while to find out if he picks up where he left off. Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report that Blackmon has been suspended for four games by the league for violating league policy and the NFL later announced that it was specifically a violation of the Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
Blackmon led the Jaguars with 64 catches last season and that closing flourish raised hopes that the fifth overall pick of the 2012 Draft was going to continue developing into a top-flight receiver. Blackmon will still be able to practice with the Jags and play in preseason games, so this won’t totally halt that progress but there’s no denying that it’s a wrench in the plans for a player with two drunk driving arrests before he signed his rookie deal with the Jags.
The Jaguars play the Chiefs, Raiders, Seahawks and Colts in the first four games of the 2013 season.