Just after the end of the regular season, Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell said that the team would not be making an effort to re-sign running back Maurice Jones-Drew before free agency opens in March.
There wasn’t much reason to expect otherwise after the Jags opted not to negotiate a new deal with Jones-Drew at any point during the 2013 season and Jones-Drew said Thursday that he wasn’t surprised by what Caldwell had to say.
“I’m fine with it,” Jones-Drew said, via the Florida Times-Union. “I kind of figured that because we didn’t talk throughout the year. That’s part of the business. There’s no hard feelings. I gave everything I could to the organization. I appreciate them giving me that opportunity. Wherever I go next year, they’ll have a person ready to play at a high level.”
That closing note sounds like one coming from a player who plans to be playing for one of the 31 other NFL teams next season, but Jones-Drew said that he wasn’t ruling out a return to the Jaguars. Neither did Caldwell, although there’s obviously a good chance of one with the Jaguars doing little to suggest that keeping the franchise’s second-leading rusher in history is a top priority.