Maurice Jones-Drew: Hefty Price Tag Means Trade Talks Won't End Anytime Soon

The good news is, at least we know which storyline we'll be talking about for the next several months.

As soon as Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew made it clear this week that he doesn't want to be in Jacksonville anymore, the interwebs began buzzing with speculation about where and when he could be traded.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it started when MJD didn't react favorably to the following comment, courtesy of Jags owner Shad Khan: "Train's leaving the station. Run, get on it."

Jones-Drew wants more money than the team is willing to pay him in 2012—according to the New York Post's Anthony Sulla-Heffinger, he's due to earn $4.45 million this season and $4.95 million in 2013—hence, his lengthy holdout. In light of Khan's comments, Schefter reports that the disgruntled star "is now open to being traded."

In an interview with the Associated Press (via Schefter's report from ESPN.com), Jones-Drew's agent, Adisa Bakari, took it one step further:

"

Maurice wants to play for an organization that wants him and for an owner who respects him and values what he brings to a team—on the field, in the locker room and in the community.

"

You would think that those comments would lead to a flurry of interest. You would think that the running back and his agent would be fielding offers left and right. Last season, MJD rushed for a career-high 1,606 yards and recorded 1,980 total yards, averaging 100.4 rush yards per game. For the last three seasons, he's rushed for 1,300 yards or more.

Any team would be glad to add that kind of backfield weapon to its attack—or so you would think. The problem is, there is virtually no team in the league that can afford him, for one reason or another.

According to NFL.com's Dan Hanzus, the problem that is getting in the way of a potential MJD-to-the-Jets deal is the same problem that could interfere with any team interested in trading for the superstar.

On Wednesday, the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta revealed that problem via Twitter:

"

Jets aren't interested in trading for Maurice Jones-Drew. Price tag (players/draft picks + signing him to new deal) is prohibitive. #nyj

— Manish Mehta(@MMehtaNYDN) August 22, 2012"

And that appears to bring us all to a standstill.

At this point, MJD doesn't have many options. He's either going to have to swallow massive amounts of pride and end his holdout if he wants to play this season, or…well, that could be the only option.

The Post's Sulla-Heffinger presents an excellent case-by-case analysis of just how limited MJD's options are. A trade wouldn't work out with virtually any team in the league for one reason or another: Teams don't have the money to sign Jones-Drew to a long-term deal, or teams don't need another running back, or teams do need a running back but are in the Jags' division.

The bottom line is that any possible trade is going to take a lot of creativity—maybe more creativity than is humanly possible. Which means that MJD, for now, may be stuck.

Looks like he better get on that train before it leaves the station after all.