Maurice Jones-Drew Says Tweet Questioning Jay Cutler’s Toughness Was Meant as Joke

Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew sounds like the latest athlete to backpedal following a seemingly ill-advised Twitter post.

Jones-Drew, who caught the attention of much of the football-watching world by blasting Jay Cutler on Twitter, is now backing off of his attack of the quarterback, instead saying the criticism was intended for University of Florida fans.

“I never attacked him, called him soft or a sore loser,” Jones-Drew told The Associated Press on Monday. “I never questioned his toughness. I think people took my joke out of context. I was taking at shot at Florida fans.”

Jones-Drew took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon during the NFC Championship to make his feelings felt about the decision for Cutler to remain on the sideline following an injury that was later revealed as a sprained MCL.

“Hey I think the [Urban Meyer] rule is effect right now… When the going gets tough……..QUIT,” Jones-Drew tweeted, seeming to attack not only Cutler, but Meyer who recently resigned as head coach of Florida.

“I threw out this joke and the backlash came in,” Jones-Drew continued. “I tried to make it right, but it backfired.

“I don’t think anyone was questioning his toughness. Some guys were questioning his body language on the sideline at the end of the game. I wasn’t even doing that. I was making a joke for the Florida fans and people took it out of context.”

For what it’s worth, Jones-Drew not only plays in the state of Florida, but is from Oakland and attended UCLA. The Bruins never played Florida during the running back’s three years at UCLA. So why he would attack the school’s fans in the wake of Meyer leaving is unknown.