Why the Jacksonville Jaguars Stink
Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 4:32 am
Not only do the Jaguars have one of the worst NFL records in recent years (14 wins in 4 years), but their first round draft pick, defensive end Dante Fowler from Florida, who was the first non-QB chosen in the draft and never missed a game in college, tore his ACL during the first practice of rookie camp. He'll probably miss the entire 2015 season and returns from ACL surgery can be tricky.
Fowler had not actually signed a contract, but was participating in the camp under a waiver that says that, if injured, the team will continue to negotiate with him in good faith as if he were not injured. It will be interesting to see how that turns out. Fortunately for Fowler, the NFL has some fairly rigid guidelines for structuring what top round rookies make (it's slotted, so the #10 pick should make somewhere between what the #9 and #11 picks make) that will keep Jacksonville from lowballing him too much if they try to do so.
It's not nearly as tragic, but it's eerily similar to what happened to the Boston Celtics who had the NBA's second pick in the 1986 draft and picked Maryland's Len Bias, who died two days later from a cocaine overdose. Fowler's still very much alive fortunately and hopefully his career will be too.
Fowler had not actually signed a contract, but was participating in the camp under a waiver that says that, if injured, the team will continue to negotiate with him in good faith as if he were not injured. It will be interesting to see how that turns out. Fortunately for Fowler, the NFL has some fairly rigid guidelines for structuring what top round rookies make (it's slotted, so the #10 pick should make somewhere between what the #9 and #11 picks make) that will keep Jacksonville from lowballing him too much if they try to do so.
It's not nearly as tragic, but it's eerily similar to what happened to the Boston Celtics who had the NBA's second pick in the 1986 draft and picked Maryland's Len Bias, who died two days later from a cocaine overdose. Fowler's still very much alive fortunately and hopefully his career will be too.