The Jacksonville Jaguars found a diamond in the rough in receiver Jaydon Mickens, who’s become a special-teams dynamo for them in recent weeks. Though, until very recently, the young man was living out of his car, rather than signing a lease.
Mickens was cut by the Oakland Raiders back in September. He didn’t have any clue whether he’d be able to stay in Jacksonville or be forced to move again, so the thought of being tied up in a lease was not appealing.
“If you’re on a month or year lease, you can’t break it,” Mickens said, via Phillip Hellman of the Florida Times-Union. “I didn’t know how long I was going to be here. You can be here for two weeks and then gone tomorrow.
“You can go into an offseason and not get paid for six months,” Mickens said. “I would rather save every check if I’m on the practice squad for the whole year and have something to fall back on.”
It makes sense from a financial perspective, especially for a young, unproven player who might not last long in the league. Though, Mickens says he didn’t really let many people know about his situation, so his teammates had no idea he was sleeping in his car every night.
“I came from nothing,” Mickens, who grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, said. “I’ve been through way worse.”
Things are a bit more concrete for the 23-year-old former Washington Huskies receiver. He’s the first returner in Jaguars history to win two AFC Special Teams Player of the Week awards, the second of which he landed earlier this week following his 72-yard return against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. He’s averaging 13.1 yards per punt return (236 yards on 18 returns), good for second place in the NFL.