At February's combine, Jaguars general manager David Caldwell called the potential return of wide receiver Justin Blackmon"a luxury" for Jacksonville if it happened.
The odds don't sound promising.
"It's not something we're counting on," Caldwell told reporters Friday, per Ryan O'Halloran of The Florida Times-Union, adding that he'd be "relatively surprised" if Blackmon suited up in 2014 after being suspended indefinitely without pay for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
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Caldwell said in February that the Jaguars haven't been in regular contact with Blackmon, the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, citing "certain rules that we have to abide by" from the NFL Players Association and the league office. The third-year wideout would need to be reinstated by the league first, something NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport on Friday called no guarantee, per sources informed of the situation.
It's a bitter pill to swallow for a promising young Jaguars team with Cecil Shorts and Ace Sanders penciled in at the position alongside Mike Brown. Last season, Blackmon lit up the field with his post-catch playmaking ability and an outrageous 19 catches for 326 yards in his first two games back from suspension.
The Jaguars can release him without owing another cent, so there's no harm in keeping his rights heading into the season. From another angle, an especially daring club could, in theory, attempt to secure Blackmon in a trade. That would be surprising, but the current regime didn't cause this headache -- they inherited it.
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