Maurice Jones-Drew
The Jacksonville Jaguars pro-bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew missed the final two games of the pre-season, but he vowed to return in time for the opener against the Broncos.
“I will be back Monday doing everything I need to do to get ready to beat Denver,” said Jones-Drew.
Jones-Drew not only missed the games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons, he has also missed two full weeks of practice with the team. His absense led to many reports speculating about a possibly injury and knee surgery to treat it.
Jones-Drew and his agent summarily denied the rumors about the surgery. However, Jones-Drew did admit that he had been seeking treatment.
“After having a tough offseason, OTAs, a tough training camp, obviously I wanted to be out there with my teammates, but we felt the best thing for me was rest and rehab and getting my body back right, taking care of all the nicks and bruises,” he said. “I feel great. I can’t wait to get out there and play Denver. They are the first hurdle in our road to success, and I can’t wait to get out there.”
Jone-Drew casually dismissed the concern over a possible ailment.
“It’s been a big mess over nothing. There have been some false reports out there about what happened, which is fine. People are going to speculate, but that is not going to hurt anything that happens with this team. More than anything else, guys understand. They want me back. I want to be back, and I will be back on Monday.”