Jaguars defensive lineman Jeremy Mincey is owning responsibility for missing last week’s game.
The Jaguars left him home from last week’s trip to Houston for violating team rules.
And Mincey told Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union that he had no one but himself to blame. He said a new baby and a music business distracted him from his day job.
“I needed it,” Mincey said of coach Gus Bradley’s wake-up call. “It’s time to re-focus and re-dedicate myself to football. Gus was just honest. He just made an example of me and I feel bad to be the example, but I’ll always fight back and will come back and do everything right.
“I want to be a Jaguar. I have a lot of love and respect for Coach Gus Bradley and the way he does things. I appreciate him giving me the time to re-focus and dedicate myself to football so you can see the real player in me and I can get back to who I am.”
Mincey will also be fined for oversleeping and missing a meeting, which he admitted was the last straw rather than an isolated event.
“I hated to miss it,” he said. “I let my team down. But I’m back and it’s over with. We’re all human and we make mistakes.
“I was negligent as a football player and role model on this football team.”
The Jaguars got by without him, beating the Texans for their second win in three weeks. But as important is Bradley’s willingness to make an example of someone, which could help him create a different atmosphere in the future.