With a 2-9 record and needs in just about every corner of the roster, it’s not surprising that minds in Jacksonville have already started turning toward the offseason.
During an appearance on 1010XL in Jacksonville, Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell was asked about running back Maurice Jones-Drew’s future in Jacksonville. Jones-Drew is playing out the final weeks of a five-year contract with the team and was the subject of some trade chatter before this year’s deadline before remaining in town.
Caldwell said Tuesday that the eight-year vet might not be leaving after the year either. Caldwell, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, called it a “realistic possibility” that the team and Jones-Drew reach agreement on a deal that keeps him in a Jaguars uniform.
It’s hard to argue with that statement since it is almost always a realistic possibility that a team signs a free agent to a contract, it just doesn’t feel like a particularly likely one. Jones-Drew is turning 29 before next season and has averaged just over three yards a carry this season, which hasn’t been all on him but hasn’t been all on the shortcomings of the rest of the offense either.
This offseason should bring significant change to Jacksonville as Caldwell and coach Gus Bradley continue the roster reshaping they began this year. Committing money to Jones-Drew while that’s going on doesn’t really fit with the larger rebuilding effort.