The Jacksonville Jaguars plan on allowing running back Maurice Jones-Drew to hit the free-agent market.
MJD said Monday he wants to stay in Jacksonville, but the sides clearly don't see eye to eye on the dollar amount.
"I think he'll leave that up to his representation in terms of finding him the best value for his deal," general manager David Caldwell said Tuesday, per ESPN. "I'm not pessimistic at all about it. I think he's earned the right to go to free agency. He's been a great player in this organization and he's had a great career and I think he's earned the right to go see what his value and his market is.
"It's our right to decide if we want to match it and bring him back."
That doesn't sound like the talk of a GM that plans on bringing back his most proven offensive weapon. Most teams don't allow their best players to hit free agency because that is generally when the price is driven up.
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Unless MJD gets low-ball offers from other teams, we could see the Jaguars move on with running back Jordan Todman (restricted free agent) and other cheaper options through the draft or free agency.
Sports contract research website Spotrac.com compared MJD's impending free agency favorably to other backs who were 28 years old when they signed a contract: Reggie Bush (4 years, $16 million), DeAngelo Williams (5 years, $43M) and Frank Gore (4 years, $25.9M).
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped all of Week 17's wild action.
