Earlier this offseason the Jaguars elected not to pick up the option on their starting left tackle Kelvin Beachum's contract. That left the team with out a suitable starting left tackle. There was speculation that the Jaguars might be interested in signing Beachum to a different contract that was more team friendly. That was not the case. With in a matter of days after not picking up Beachum's option the Jaguars traded for left tackle Branden Albert, who was reportedly about to be released by the Dolphins. The Jags traded a 2018 7th round pick for the 32 year old left tackle.
All went well between the team and Albert. There were rumors the the Jaguars were even going to sweeten the deal for the aging offensive lineman. He was introduced by the team with the rest of the Jaguars big offseason acquisitions and seemed genuinely excited to be in Jacksonville. Then everything went south. To make a long story short it appeared that Branden Albert saw what other left tackles were earning on the open market and decided he wasn't being compensated well enough for his services. And so began his holdout. For a long period of time, months even, Alber had zero communication with the Jaguars. He missed every OTA, of course those were "voluntary" and didn't cost him any money. OTAs ended Friday and so too did Branden Albert's holdout, or so it would seem. Doug Marrone told the media Friday that he spoke with Branden Albert and Branden told him he would show up for minicamp next week. Of course, once minicamp starts if Albert is absent he would begin getting fined by the team as mini camp is mandatory - a fact not lost on the veteran left tackle. Once Albert shows up there will still be the question of whether or not he is football shape. And injuries will be a concern throughout the offseason for the oft sidelined Albert. It would appear the Jaguars are on their way to having a stress free (lol) and distraction free mini camp. With no major off the field issues and no major injuries the Jaguars are set to open up mini camp close to full strength. If Albert does report it'll cross another item off the list for the Jaguars and will leave the team with only one thing to focus on - football. Let us know your thoughts on the Branden Albert situation in the comment section below.
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