Branden Albert finally gets in touch with Jaguars coach Doug Marrone
By Matt Conner
New Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Branden Albert finally got a hold of his new head coach after weeks of silence and ignoring the team.
Branden Albert has been the opposite of a model teammate so far in his short-lived tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Soon after the Jags paid a 7th round choice to the Miami Dolphins to secure his services, instead of having the Fins outright release the veteran, Albert said all the right things about being wanted by his new team and being excited to play in Jacksonville. Unfortunately when the rubber met the road, Albert sat out voluntary offseason activities and failed to even communicate back with his head coach, Doug Marrone, who told the press directly that he had been waiting to hear something back from Albert’s camp.
James Palmer of NFL Network says that Albert has finally returned his coach’s text messages and word is that the tackle is expected to show up at OTAs on Tuesday. The Jags seemed to have turn the corner given the presence of Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson, but Albert is ready to change that narrative after staying away from the team in recent weeks. In a recent report, Palmer said:
"[Albert] missed the first two phases of offseason voluntary workouts, but then yesterday, I’m told he sent a text message to head coach Doug Marrone and that started opening up the lines of communication. The plan after that text was for them to not really negotiate but to start talking, and there’s a belief with some people down there that he will be showing up for OTAs when they start on Tuesday.Now the caveat that also plays into this is that, remember, they drafted Cam Robinson to play left tackle and to be their left tackle in the future. Now this team, I’m told, is very high on Cam Robinson and they’ve been very open about him playing left tackle, but that could also be a reason for them to say, “Tell Branden Albert we’re fine with this rookie playing left tackle if you want to continue to hold out.” But if Albert comes back and wins that left tackle spot, even though they said Cam Robinson is playing left tackle, the obvious move would be for him to slide in and play left guard."
Albert played his first six years in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs before leaving for a big-money deal in free agency to the Miami Dolphins three years ago. Well into a five-year deal, the Dolphins decided to let Albert go at such a high price tag, especially given that they lucked into Laremy Tunsil in the 2016 NFL Draft. That made Albert expendable and that’s when the Jags stepped up with an offer.
Albert might not be a blue chip player at this point, but he made the Pro Bowl as recently as 2015 and he remains an above-average option for most teams. The Jags might have other options, but his experience along the line will serve a young offense well as they learn how to use new feature back Leonard Fournette.