The Jaguars are one full week in to training camp and the offense has been far behind the defense early. That could be due in part to the fact that No. 5 overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, Justin Blackmon, has yet to reach a contract agreement to allow him to start his time at the 2012 training camp.
Instead Blackmon has been unable to work with the offense of his new team and considering a new rule that forces players to wait four days after reporting until they can hit the practice fields, a deal done between Blackmon and the Jaguars needs to get done soon.
Said Alfie Crow of SB Nation's Big Cat Country, the time is now for a deal to get done:
It's reached the point in which Blackmon is essentially going to miss live bullets because he, his agent, and the Jaguars can't hammer out a contract. The two sides are at a stalemate right now, with neither side looking as if they'll budge, but it's going to have to be Blackmon who caves. The issue, from what I've heard, is the team wants the ability to be relieved of guaranteed money owed to Blackmon if he screws up off the field again and the team releases him. First-round pick contracts are virtually fully guaranteed under the new rules, so the team wants something in place if they're forced to cut Blackmon because of an off the field incident.
The first preseason game for the Jaguars will take place on Friday, August 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Everbank Field against the New York Giants.
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