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The Jacksonville Jaguars will have a decision to make going forward on the future of wide receiver Justin Blackmon. In surprising news on Friday, the team announced that Blackmon would be suspended indefinitely for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, just four games after he served a four game suspension for doing the same during the offseason.
Blackmon's future in doubt
Justin Blackmon has played 20 career games with the Jaguars and may not make it to 21 after receiving an indefinite suspension on Friday.
This led to speculation on what his future with the team would be, given he'd once again broken the trust of the coaching staff and front office, but head coach Gus Bradley wasn't ready to slam the door shut.
"My whole purpose on this to be honest with you is away from football," Bradley told reporters on Monday. "I just looked at him as a person, and what we needed to do to help him in the right direction. I think some of this that was facilitated through the NFL will guide him in the right direction."
There were some calls from fans for the Jaguars to release Blackmon immediately, but that doesn't necessarily help anyone. It's prudent for the Jaguars to wait to make that decision, see where their roster and Blackmon is at when he can apply for reinstatement, then make a decision going forward.
The Jaguars can now use the final eight games of the season to evaluate players like Mike Brown, Stephen Burton, etc. and judge if they can help the team going forward, if they decide to move on without Blackmon.