Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon is suspended for the first four games of the regular season and he’s not able to play right now because he’s recovering from groin surgery, so you’d might have thought he’d keep a low profile during Friday night’s game against the Dolphins.
That was not the case, however. Mark Long of the Associated Press reports that Blackmon got into a verbal altercation with Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll on the sideline during the first half of the game. Jaguars coach Gus Bradley had to step in to calm things down, but, according to Long, things flared up again when Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin suggested that Blackmon not talk trash with opponents when he’s facing a suspension.
That led to further arguing and Blackmon was eventually escorted from the field by running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Gene Frenette of the Florida Times Union reports that Bradley said after the game that he met with Blackmon to let him know he wasn’t happy about the receiver’s actions on the sideline.
“That’s not what we want on the sideline. That’s not who we are or what we want to become,” Bradley said.
Absent other concerns about a player’s maturity, this probably wouldn’t be too big a deal. For Blackmon, though, it fits with a pattern that hasn’t led to much good news in his brief NFL career.