Maurice Jones-Drew is still not in Jaguars camp due to a lengthy contract holdout, and progress doesn't seem to be coming at all. Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey is prepared to start the season without last year's NFL leading rusher, he said Sunday.
"We're locked in with the guys that we have and there has been zero distraction," Mularkey told NFL.com in a phone interview the weekend following the team's win over the New Orleans Saints. "There are choices and consequences. This is his choice. There is nothing I can do that could persuade him to do anything different."
Rashad Jennings has played well during his time as Jones-Drew's backup and as the starter in the preseason thus far, and if Jones-Drew misses time in the regular season, he will continue to tote the rock. SB Nation's Jaguars blog, Big Cat Country, has been covering MJD's holdout with the best of them, and here's what BCC's Alfie Crow had to say about the latest development:
As we've covered in the past, neither side seems to be willing to budge on the issue and it's become of staring contest. Who's going to blink first? [...] As it stands right now, the Jaguars don't seem to be missing the 2011 NFL's leading rusher much in the preseason.
For more on the Jags, make sure to visit Big Cat Country.