Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin made some headlines this week when he said that every player on the team “should be” at the team’s voluntary offseason workouts.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Telvin Smith haven’t been in Jacksonville and Coughlin’s comments drew a response from the NFLPA that the Collective Bargaining Agreement’s “definition of voluntary is the same as the actual definition of voluntary.”
On Friday, Ramsey’s agent David Mulugheta offered up a response on Twitter that said Ramsey “is exactly where Jalen should be during his off season” and that the team was “fully aware” that he’d be absent ahead of time. Ramsey replied to that tweet with one of his own.
“Fully aware” & “voluntary” meaning I don’t HAVE to be there BUT they know the EXACT REASONS I am not. My teammates know it’s ALL love & know I’ll be ready when it’s time! 💯 https://t.co/NASgnu6egT
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) April 19, 2019
Contract issues can lead to offseason absences and Ramsey is eligible for an extension for the first time in his career, but didn’t take part in the team’s voluntary work last season to train at his father’s facility in Nashville. Barring word to the contrary, it seems he’s following the same script this time around.