For the short term, the massive report surrounding the Jaguars will be Fred Taylor's astonishing quote regarding a messy situation this weekend in Las Vegas, but the longer story – all the Jaguars hope – is the return to form of wide receiver Jerry Porter.
Let’s start with Taylor first.
The Jaguars' leader apologized to the organization and specifically the Weavers for the unfortunate press stemming from his verbal altercation with an Arkansas State Trooper.
“I truly, from the bottom of my heart, want to say I'm sorry to the Weavers and the team for this kind of press,” Taylor said. “Now, it’s not everybody versus a police officer, which holds no grudge, whether wrong or right.”
Taylor decided to use the incident as a teaching moment, particularly focusing on younger players, to let them know the lesson he learned.
“Adversity really shows true character,” Taylor explained. “I was able to do something hopefully to help the young guys out and point them in the right direction through my mistakes.”
Jack Del Rio said he was confident the team would not punish Taylor over the incident.
“I talked with Fred and he addressed his teammates this morning,” stated Del Rio. “It’s a sign that you give proper respect to authority figures and you won’t have those kinds of problems. Michael is a great guy. He’s been a team captain. He’ll always be a team captain here. I have every confidence in Michael Taylor and his approach.”
As for Porter, he practiced Saturday for the first time since his offseason surgery. Last week, Del Rio said that once Porter started practicing, you could expect him to be ready two weeks later. While he didn’t back away from that statement, Del Rio did leave open the possibility for Porter returning even sooner for the season opener against the Chiefs.
“If he hadn’t practiced yet, then we wouldn’t be any closer to getting him back,” Del Rio explained. “Since he’s back working, that progression begins. But there’s really nothing more to add to the story than that.”