No one has ever doubted Marcell Dareus’s talent for the defensive tackle position, but his effort has sometimes been lacking, he’s had off-field issues, and last year the Bills decided they’d had enough and traded him halfway through the season to the Jaguars.
In Jacksonville, there are no issues.
Dareus played well last season for the Jaguars, and in his first offseason in Jacksonville, he’s drawing praise from coach Doug Marrone for his work ethic.
“I’m very happy with the way he’s worked, the way he has come into camp,” Marrone said, via Mike Kaye of First Coast News. “I think those are things he has done a much better job of than what maybe he had done in the past. I can appreciate that and see that in him.”
Marrone and Jaguars front office boss Tom Coughlin are known for believing in tough summer practices, but Dareus said he’s enjoying it.
“I just want to do the best we can,” Dareus said. “We just push each other and let’s go. Give me what you got, I’ll give you what I’ve got and when you’re tired, just let me know and I’m right there to pick up where you left off and vice versa.”
With the fifth-round draft pick the Bills got from the Jaguars for trading Dareus, Buffalo took Wyatt Teller, a guard from Virginia Tech. That’s a trade the Jaguars would gladly do again.