One of the bigger stories last week was the thought that disgruntled star running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Maurice Jones-Drew could potentially be traded.
MJD, whose had problems working out a new contract has been a hold out for the Jaguars for the entire preseason thus far and it doesn’t seem like anything is going to get done anytime soon. It still however doesn’t seem at this point that Jacksonville will deal their best player, especially with a new ownership group in place.
But despite all that, there’s still a possibility that Jacksonville moves their longtime running back to start fresh at the position in 2012. It’s also no secret that the Lions have struggled at the position with production and injuries ever since Barry Sanders retired back in 1998. With that said could the Lions make a phone call down to Jacksonville to see what it would take to get MJD in the fold?
With Jahvid Best probably missing at least the first six weeks of the season as he tries to continue to recover from last season’s concussion, Mikel Leshoure being a wild card and Kevin Smith never being able to put together a season in which he’s remained healthy it would seem like a no-brainer for the Lions to make that call on Jones-Drew.
But what exactly would it take for the Lions ti acquire MJD and make a big-three of Stafford, Johnson and Jone-Drew come to fruition? Adam Schefter of ESPN gives his thoughts…
“I don’t see the team making a move for Maurice Jones-Drew, though can you imagine if they did? Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Jones-Drew. That’s a trio that could wind up rivaling the triplets that Dallas once had. If I were the Lions, I’d be on the phone with the Jaguars, pushing to make a deal happen. I’d offer up a second-round pick and any running back they want off the Lions’ roster. If nothing else, Jacksonville would at least have to think about a deal for Mikel Leshoure and a second-round pick. It might not be enough to get it done, but it would at least give the Jaguars something to think about.”
After this past preseason game against the Raiders it was still difficult to get a good gage in on exactly what the Lions have a running back. Kevin Smith didn’t play much but when he did he was injured and the same goes for Leshoure who did show some signs of being productive this season. Still it’s hard to believe with Best being injured and the wild card that is Leshoure the Lions having a productive running game in 2012. That of course is assuming that Detroit doesn’t get MJD.
h/t: ESPN