Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew and franchised kicker Josh Scobee are not expected to be present for the start of the team's organized team activities on Tuesday, Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union reports. Neither player has participated in the voluntary workout program, so their absence for the OTAs should not come as a surprise. Jones-Drew has always preferred to work out on his own in his native California and his conditioning has never been a problem. Ganguli notes that the Jaguars thought Jones-Drew returned from the lockout in the best shape of his career after undergoing major knee surgery in the offseason.
Coming off a season where he led the NFL in rushing attempts and yards, Jones-Drew may be avoiding the OTAs in attempt to get the Jaguars to adjust the two years and $9.5 million remaining on his current contract. Last season, Jones-Drew watched Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, Tennessee's Chris Johnson, Carolina's DeAngelo Williams and Houston's Arian Foster sign multi-year contracts passing his deal in terms of APY (Average Per Year) rankings at the running back position Scobee's absence is strictly contract-related. The 29-year-old kicker has yet to sign his one-year, $2.88 million franchise tender.
Until he does so, he is not obligated to report to any workout, voluntary or involuntary. The two sides have reportedly made little progress in talks toward a long-term extension. In order to have a kicker for the OTAs, the Jaguars have signed Brandon Coutu, a 2008 seventh round pick out of Georgia by the Seattle Seahawks who spent a week on the Jaguars practice squad last season. Coutu, 27, made his NFL debut when he handled the kicking duties for the Buffalo Bills in 2011 regular season finale, missing his lone field goal attempt.
source: Around The League on NFL.com
author: Brian McIntyre
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