Maurice Jones-Drew Ends Holdout

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

The NFL's reigning rushing champion, Maurice Jones-Drew, ended his holdout and reported to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, NFL.com and the NFL Network's Albert Breer reports.

"I'm game ready now," Jones-Drew said at a news conference Sunday after reporting to the team.
Jones-Drew forfeited a $50,000 workout bonus and has more than $1.2 million in potential fines for missing the mandatory minicamp and all of training camp, but coach Mike Mularkey has not indicated whether any of those would be forgiven. Jones-Drew's willingness to potentially forgo all that money showed his displeasure with the two years and up to $9.65 million that remain on his five-year contract.

As a vested veteran, Jones-Drew's $4.45 million base salary in 2012 would become fully guaranteed if he's on the 53-man roster in Week 1, and the weekly game checks worth $261,765 would have been difficult for Jones-Drew to pass up, making it unlikely that the three time Pro Bowl running back would have missed any regular-season games.

Even with Jones-Drew back in the fold, he might not be in the lineup next Sunday for the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. The Jaguars placed MJD on the Reserve/Did Not Report list so they will receive a roster exemption now that he has reported, making him eligible for Week 1.

While Jones-Drew will likely show up in good shape, he's not in football shape having missed all of the Jaguars' offseason workouts, training camp and the preseason. That was an issue Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson lamented after 2011, his least-productive season in the NFL which began by skipping training camp in protest of his contract.

Unlike Jones-Drew, Johnson's return to the Titans coincided with a new four-year $53.975 million contract extension that included $30 million in guaranteed money. Jones-Drew will show up in Jacksonville on the same contract that Breer reports will not be adjusted. If Jones-Drew's production or health falters, this could be his final season in Jacksonville.

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Good news for the Jaguars, it was just a matter of time. Looks like he won't be starting Week 1, which hurts the Jaguars and my fantasy football team!

 

[Lake Louise]

Now we'll see how it goes. Holding out and missing camp, hasn't worked out the best for most guys. Could do well right away, could take him a few games.