Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew isn’t practicing on Thursday, which makes it difficult to imagine he’ll be playing against the Patriots this weekend.
Jones-Drew has made it clear that he wants to play again this season despite missing the last eight games with a foot injury and having one year left on a deal he wanted extended badly enough to hold out of camp this summer. Jones-Drew said Wednesday that he has no bad feelings about the Jaguars because of that standoff, but he also said that he wouldn’t be asking the team for an extension once the year comes to an end.
“It’s not really up to us, it’s up to them,” Jones-Drew said, via the Florida Times-Union. “They have to come to us. Obviously, we tried to come to them this offseason and it didn’t work out so it’s up to them.”
MJD’s desire for a long-term deal is well-known enough that there’s no reason to reiterate it. The identity of “them” is a big wild card here. If the Jaguars make changes in the front office and/or coaching staff, there could be a different view on how to handle Jones-Drew than General Manager Gene Smith and coach Mike Mularkey employed this season. It doesn’t make much sense to ask for an extension or even consider one until you know the direction of the organization.