Suspended wide receiver Justin Blackmon is unlikely to return to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
General manager Dave Caldwell expressed guarded optimism about Blackmon, a first-round pick in 2012, returning this season in an interview at the Scouting Combine in February. But with no contact between the parties and no signs of progress reported from the NFL, hope is faint.
“I have not heard anything,” Caldwell said Tuesday, “and I guess I harbor a little bit of hope but realistically I think when you’re away from the game for two-and-a-half years what you were once is not what you probably will be.”
The Jaguars drafted Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee in the second round in 2014, and were pleasantly surprised by the performance of undrafted rookie Allen Hurns last season.
Jacksonville also boosted the receiving corps with the addition of tight end Julius Thomas in March.
