Maurice Jones-Drew was assumed to be all but gone at the end of the year when his contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars ran out. The veteran running back has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons and has not put up an impressive amount of yardage in years. However, the team has announced their intentions to bring Jones-Drew back for a few more years and apparently the feeling is mutual.
"I want to be here," Jones-Drew said, via ESPN.com. "It's a fun environment. It's different than I've ever been a part of. It works. It takes time to build anything. It's starting to turn around for us, and we're starting to play well. That's exciting."
Jones-Drew says he is fully committed to the Jaguars despite the rebuilding phase the team just cannot seem to escape. He currently has three games remaining on five-year, $31 million contract signed back in 2009. The veteran is not likely to get that same kind of deal again. The free agent market is not at all kind to aging running backs. Just ask Michael Turner how he feels about that. So the fact that Jones-Drew has announced his intentions to return no matter the price is a good thing for his future.
General manager David Caldwell said the team will re-sign Jones-Drew, but at the right price. He declined to go into detail over what that means, but it is a good indication that the veteran will be taking a pay cut. Many assume the contract negotiations will start at a two-year, $10 million deal.
"I just want to be a leader," Jones-Drew said. "Back when I was young and doing some wild stuff, we had older guys that would be like, 'All right, calm down.' Well, now I look around here and I'm like, 'All right, where are these older guys at?' Oh, I'm one of them. So you've kind of got to change some things, especially with what we've been going through."
The veteran fits that description and could be used to mentor a younger back. He missed the entire 2012 season, but returned this year, putting up 719 yards and five touchdowns. The Jaguars was rank dead last in total offense, but that certainly is not the primary fault of Jones-Drew.
Head coach Gus Bradley credits Jones-Drew for being a key piece in the team's late-season turnaround. Jacksonville has won their last four of five games to sit at 4-9 on the season. Getting the running back on board with the "get better" attitude helped.
"He's been great, he really has been," Bradley said. "When you're an elite running back -- he had like 1,600 yards -- those guys want the ball all the time. It's a different mindset now. When you say, 'Let's try this,' he could bow up. He could say, 'What's going on?' And if he did do that, I would understand. He fought it a little bit, then he said 'OK.' I'm sure he's not waving pompoms and is ecstatic over it. But the truth of the matter is he's doing better."
