Maurice Jones-Drew ready to work, has no regrets over holdout
Maurice Jones-Drew is back in camp, ready to work toward regaining his starting position at running back with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While Jaguars fans might hold a grudge with last season’s leading rusher in the NFL for his 38-day holdout for a better contract, they should like his attitude now that he’s back.
“This is the last talk about the whole contract situation,†Jones-Drew said during his Sunday afternoon news conference. “We’re going to move forward to football after this.â€
Music to many people’s ears, especially those who drafted Jones-Drew for fantasy football. After all, he was a workhorse last year with 1,606 yards in an astounding 343 carries, which also led the league.
While he might not play in Week 1 and probably won’t start for a few games, expect MJD to be just fine because he says he’s not bitter about failing to get a new contract. Even though he’s still owed $9.1 million over the next two years to complete his five-year deal signed in 2009, Jones-Drew believed he was worth more and fought for what he thought he was owed.
“I did something I felt was right, and I’m always going to feel right,†Jones-Drew said of his holdout. “I’m not going to feel wrong for what I did at all. I think if you regret things, you’re going to come back salty, be a distraction, things like that.
“I don’t feel that way ‘cause what I did was right. No one can tell me it was wrong. Not one person here can tell me what I did was wrong.â€
Reporters wanted to know whether the contract issue would be a problem next off-season.
“Yes, it went into a holdout and all these different things,†MJD said. “At the end of the day, that’s what it was about: my production and my value. I haven’t stopped fighting. I’m going to come out and play.
“We’re over it. It’s solved for the time being and we’re ready to move on.â€
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