Maurice Jones-Drew has been an incredible football player. At just 5-foot-7 and 210 pounds, the former UCLA standout was a prime playmaker for the Jacksonville Jaguars for eight seasons, and was arguably one of the best running backs in the NFL from 2009 to 2011.
Yet at age 29, Jones-Drew isn’t close to what he once was.
So, though Jones-Drew has indicated he wants to return to play for the Oakland Raiders in 2015, the Raiders should just say no. It’s time to move on.
Jones carried the ball just 43 times over 12 games in 2014, gaining only 96 yards – a horrible 2.2-yard average. He added 11 catches for 71 yards. But he scored zero touchdowns and had zero big plays. His longest run was 13 yards. His longest reception was for 12 yards. The quickness he had in his earlier years was gone.
Thirty is often the age when running backs hit the physical wall. Jones-Drew hit the wall a bit earlier, slowed by a series of injuries in Jacksonville that took their toll.
This week, Jones-Drew said in an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he’d like to have another chance to show what he can do for the Raiders, and that 2014 was a disappointment.
“My body feels good and I wish I played more,” he said. “I want to stay in Oakland and turn this thing around.”
Sports
Jones-Drew is signed through 2015 and due to make $2.5 million. But according to Pro Football Talk, none of the money is guaranteed.
So, as good a pro as Jones-Drew has been, the Raiders should go in a different direction. With a new head coach and coaching staff set to take over the team and a foundation of younger players now clear as the future of the franchise, it makes much more sense for the Raiders to cut ties with Jones-Drew and another veteran, Darren McFadden.
Latavius Murray showed late in the season that he can be the team’s featured back. If the Raiders can bring in another solid young back in the draft, they should be better off in 2015 than they were this past season depending on Jones-Drew and McFadden.
