MJD causing dissent? Comical. . (US Presswire)

The Jaguars were able to reach a deal with rookie wideout Justin Blackmon recently, leaving them just one player to take care of contract-wise: their most important player, running back Maurice Jones-Drew.

MJD's been holding out as Jacksonville refuses to give him  more money and it doesn't appear that holdout's going to end any time soon. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the two sides "have not made progress and the holdout is expected to last until end of month and could linger into September."

That's terrifying news for Jaguars fans, Mike Mularkey and anyone who drafted MJD in the first round of a fantasy draft (gulp). And it definitely doesn't help to hear NFL Network analyst -- and former player -- Heath Evans say this week that Mularkey is "distancing himself from his players."

But everyone doesn't agree with Evans assessment. Mularkey was asked about whether or not he was creating a gulf between he and his players and called the notion "comical."

"You can't overreact to anything that's being said," Mularkey told Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union. "That's comical to me that they would make a comment like that."

I'm not entirely sure how funny the comment is, per se, because if it's there any truth involved, that's bad news early on for Mularkey in his second tenure as a head coach. But at least one player has his back -- offensive lineman Eben Britton also thinks the notion that the players don't like Mularkey is "hilarious."

"That’s kind of hilarious, that’s just the opposite of what’s been happening," Britton said. "It really feels like a professional football organization from top to bottom. I’ve never been a part of a team that’s so acutely attentive to details."

Look, it's hard to believe that the players are loading up against Mularkey because Gene Smith won't pay a guy with two years left on his deal. MJD was handed the ultimate act of loyalty by the Jaguars when they gave him his $30-plus million deal before he ever even became a full-time starter in Jacksonville.

And Mularkey's a new coach. It's not like he's been embedded with this front office for a decade, hosing players and creating bad relationships. The dude just wants to turn Blaine Gabbert into a non-nightmare.

He's probably not happy that MJD is hurting his chances to do that, but it's also unlikely that he's somehow creating a chasm in the locker room less than six months on the job.