In what can only be described as the "most depressing Jaguars.com article ever", we learn that Reggie Williams will require knee surgery, Brad Meester's bicep is still up in the air, and that talks between the Jaguars and Derrick Harvey are far away from reaching a contract agreement.
Let's tackle these one-by-one.
1. Reggie Williams requires surgery on cartilage, Del Rio described this as a "little cleanout". Remember a few weeks ago when we thought that the Jaguars had tremendous depth at wide receiver and that a potentially talented player could be cut? Yeah, those days are well behind us. The Jaguars now are without their number one and two receivers in Porter and Williams. Vic Ketchman tells us in todays "Ask Vic" that Dennis Northcutt has some back troubles. Toss in Mike Walker's knee cutting into his practice time and you've got Matt Jones and Troy Williamson as the Jaguars healthiest pair of wide receivers.
Matt Jones, thankfully, is having an outstanding training camp so far, from stepping up in the Oklahoma to catching everything in practice, so there's that. D'Juan Woods and Jeron Harvey are going to get a really nice look over the next few weeks, which is never a bad thing. The Injuries to our recievers is something to worry about.
I can't imagine thinking this, but how about "thank god for Matt Jones", cutting him before camp could have been a good PR move, but I'm glad cooler heads prevailed.
2. Brad Meester's bicep injury is still up in the air. There are reports that he's gone to consult with Dr. Andrews, the same one who addressed his other bicep last season. The Jaguars are having some movement on the line, which if you remember last season was a big part of the Jaguars power on the field. Injuries on the line are never good, though Drew Miller is blowing people away in camp. Of course, he's still the third center on the depth chart right now, but keep an eye on him.
3. My sympathies toward the Derrick Harvey contract situation are wearing thin. I'll admit that I never thought a protracted holdout was possible, but now that he's missed nine practices, I'm starting to get concerned. There's simply not much room left to negotiate, not when the 8th pick last year was a defensive end and the player before Harvey is under contract. Sorry Derrick, the 8th pick dosen't get the same contract as the 5th. Sign the contract, get to camp, and prove your value.
If someone can find some positive news out of camp, please forward them to me. I need something to cheer me up.
-Chris