Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon has been suspended indefinitely after violating the NFL's substance abuse police once again and now he will be out for the rest of the season and will have to apply for reinstatement come next season and fantasy owners will be scrambling, with Marvin Jones, Mike Brown, Cecil Shorts and Percy Harvin as well as Ace Sander the best options to pick up to make up for his loss.
According to ESPN.com and a statement released by the Jaguars, Blackmon will be suspended for the rest of the season and this comes after he previously missed the beginning of the season while also serving a suspension and was out for the first four games. Blackmon is an insanely talented receiver for the Jaguars, but he has troubles off the field and now it has overtaken him a bit and his future with the team could be in question. Jacksonville general manager David Caldwell released the statement about Blackmon.
Marvion Jones is a solid pickup option after he had four touchdown catches against the Jets before the Thursday game this week and another solid pickup is Cecil Shorts, as he will be getting more looks without Blackmon in the fold. Also, Ace Sanders, Mike Brown and Denard Robinson all could get a boost with Blackmon out of the lineup. Percy Harvin will be back healthy soon as well and could be a solid replacement for Blackmon.
Blackmon has put up some great numbers this season while playing in only four games, making 29 catches for over 400 yards and one touchdown, but now all that will be on hold until next year when he can apply for reinstatement. Blackmon has been very productive for the Jaguars despite the team not winning a game yet this season, putting up 39 targets over the past three games and showing some explosiveness on the field and now all that will be up in the air until he returns. After Blackmon was initially suspended this season, the Jaguars knew that this could be a possibility for him if he slipped up again and now he will be done for the year.
Blackmon had 10 targets and four catches against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in London and now that will be his last game in quite some time, as he will be donezo for the year. In his previous three games, Blackmon was still very productive, putting up 38 targets in that time and against the Broncos he had his best career game, making 14 catches on 20 targets for 190 yards and in his first game he broke out big, making five catches on nine targets with 136 yards and his only TD of the season.
In his short career, Blackmon has been very productive, but his off the field troubles now could derail what was a promising NFL career. The past two seasons he has nearly 100 catches for 1,280 yards and six touchdowns and he averaged close to 14 yards per catch. Now players like Cecil Shorts will have to step up for the Jaguars to make up for Blackmon's production.