"This is still Rashean Mathis' team, he's not letting go of that.

He still wants to be around, he still is around. He goes to meetings and helps younger players watch film. He answers their questions and teases them. Mathis has been a Jaguar too long to let it go just yet.

"I might even try to travel this week if they let me,'' he said.

Mathis is about to embark on a few months unlike any other he's had in his life. He'll work to recover from a torn ACL, an injury he never had before. And while that process continues, he'll become a free agent, something he's never been before. If Mathis has it his way, the Jaguars will sign him again and he'll finish his career in Jacksonville. He'll talk about that when asked. But really he has more immediate concerns.

"I definitely would rather play here than anywhere else,'' Mathis said. "... If it's meant to be, it will be. The things that I can control, I will control, and that's my rehab, that's getting back stronger, getting back healthy. The things that I can't control, trying to control them will drive me insane. I dont want to be that.''"