The Jacksonville Jaguars are unsure if suspended wide receiver Justin Blackmon will play this season.
General manager David Caldwell said at the team’s annual pre-draft media luncheon Friday that the Jaguars are preparing as if they will be without Blackmon, who is under indefinite suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy a third time.
“It would be something that would be relatively surprising,” Caldwell said. “Haven’t gotten a whole lot of updates from the league (of) where he’s at or from Justin, to be honest with you.”
Coach Gus Bradley said he has been in some contact via text message with Blackmon, but it has been several weeks since he has heard from him.
“Without having contact, we just have to protect the team now,” Bradley said. “We’ve got to do what’s right for the organization, so we have to continue to move forward and project that. We’ve got to get some guys in here at that spot and that’s why you’ve heard Dave talk about wide receiver is a need because of that.
“Now, if everything works out to get him back, that’s OK. We always will love to get very talented players in here. But it’s hard. But we just have to keep going forward.”
Bradley said he was not aware that Blackmon was in the Jacksonville area when he learned about March 15 one-car accident.
Blackmon was suspended Nov. 1 of last year. He was also banned the first four games of the 2013 season. He is eligible to petition the NFL for reinstatement this summer, but it is likely that his suspension will force him to miss at least another eight games.
A month after getting drafted in 2012, Blackmon was arrested in Stillwater, Okla., after a breath test indicated his blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit. That arrest placed him in the league’s substance-abuse program.
In two seasons, Blackmon has 93 receptions for 1,280 yards with six touchdowns.