Darren Woodson and Tedy Bruschi agree that the Jaguars' defense will have success against the 49ers' offense in Week 16. (0:45)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaydon Mickens had options.

He could have asked to stay with one of several teammates. He could have asked the Jacksonville Jaguars to help him get a reasonable rate at a hotel. He even could have asked an equipment staffer or trainer if he could crash with them.

But the Jaguars’ first-year receiver didn’t want to ask. He was fine sleeping in his car outside EverBank Field for nearly the entire month of September. In fact, he preferred it.

Sleeping in his car allowed Mickens to save money, and that was critically important to him, because he had no idea if he was going to be in Jacksonville for a week, a month or the entire 2017 season.

“I didn’t tell them because I didn’t want them to worry about me,” Mickens said, referring to his teammates. “I’m from the 'hood. I’m from Manchester and Western [in Los Angeles], so I’ve been there. I’ve been there and I’ve seen it all and done it all, so I didn’t need nobody to help me out because I’ve done it all on my own.

“Especially going to one of their [teammates’] houses, you want to be alone when you get home. You see these guys all the time. Your girl there, you want to be there just by yourself, so I didn’t want to go to nobody’s house and be a burden to anybody.”

In addition to returning punts since Week 9, Jaydon Mickens became part of the Jaguars' passing attack with four catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns against the Texans. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

It has been a quirky journey for Mickens, as well as for teammate Keelan Cole. Both receivers were long shots to make any kind of impact for the Jaguars, and both spent a good portion of September sleeping in less-than-ideal conditions. It was by choice, but certainly not what you’d expect from a couple of NFL players.

Yet three months later, both are playing key roles on a Jaguars offense that has been one of the NFL’s best over the past three weeks.

Mickens had a little rougher start than Cole. Mickens was signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad on Sept. 4, six days before Jacksonville opened the season in Houston. Each night after practice, he would spend time at teammates’ apartments or homes, but he would eventually leave. They thought he was going home.

Instead, he’d pull into the parking lot at EverBank Field, crank the seats back in his Nissan Maxima and sleep for several hours before heading into the stadium to shower, change, eat breakfast and start his day. He wasn’t alone, either. Fellow first-year receiver Larry Pinkard did the same thing. (Pinkard was not available to be interviewed for this story because he’s in the NFL’s concussion protocol.)

Mickens slept in his car for approximately 20 days before he got his first few paychecks. Practice squad players are paid $7,200 per week, so Mickens’ first check was for $14,400, minus taxes, insurance and other deductions. By sleeping in his car instead of paying for a hotel, Mickens saved approximately $3,000 to $4,000.

That’s money he can put toward the nonprofit organizations he wants to establish in Los Angeles and Jacksonville areas. Plus, he has some business interests he wants to explore.

And, as he stressed, Mickens didn’t know if he was going to get cut after a week. He went undrafted out of the University of Washington in 2016 and signed with the Oakland Raiders in May 2016. He spent the entire season on the Raiders’ practice squad before being released in final cuts in 2017. Five days later, he was in Jacksonville.

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He had no idea he was going to get signed to the active roster in Week 7, take over as the Jaguars’ punt returner in Week 9 and end up becoming a key part of the receiver rotation after an injury to Marqise Lee early in last Sunday’s game against the Texans. Mickens ended up catching four passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

When he was added to the active roster, Mickens signed a two-year contract that paid him the league minimum of $465,000 this year and $555,000 in 2018, none of which is guaranteed. That certainly has helped his savings.

When his story first was revealed in the Florida Times-Union, Mickens drew a lot of criticism on social media. His weekly practice squad salary was compared to the meager monthly earnings of a minor league baseball player, and he was ripped for acting as if he couldn’t afford a place to stay.

Mickens is adamant that he didn’t sleep in his car because of that. He was trying to bank as much as he could, not just for himself, but for his family.

“If anybody wants to ask me, I would want them to ask me personally, so I can tell them like this, so they can understand instead of making asinine comments like, ‘Oh, he has $6,000 a week,’” Mickens said. “No, just because you aren’t thinking about your generations to come. I have generations behind me. That’s what I’m thinking about. I’m not thinking about my family in six years. I’m thinking about their kids, their kids’ kids and their kids’ kids, because I don’t want them to be how I was.”

Cole had an easier path than Mickens. He joined the Jaguars in May as an undrafted free agent and was one of the standouts of organized team activities, minicamp and training camp and made the active roster. When he did, he signed a three-year contract that paid him the league minimum in 2017, plus a $4,000 signing bonus.

It's a good thing Keelan Cole is sleeping on a bed now instead of the floor, because his role in the Jaguars' offense continues to expand. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire

Unlike Mickens, however, he got an apartment immediately (players live in the team hotel during camp). Unfortunately, Cole moved in just before Hurricane Irma ripped through Florida and caused flooding and damage in various parts of Jacksonville. That left him little time to search for furniture; he tried to purchase an air mattress until things settled down.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any. They apparently were snatched up by those preparing for the hurricane. So he slept on the floor.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Cole said. “It wasn’t bad, though. I had a cover, at least. It wasn’t like I was on the [bare] floor. Had a nice view.

“It wasn’t that bad. It was like sleeping on sand, but it was carpet. It was comfortable. ... I was inside. I wasn’t like on the floor or anything [or] on the concrete or anything.”

Cole, who was pushed into a bigger role when No. 1 receiver Allen Robinson suffered a season-ending torn left ACL in the season opener, eventually bought an air mattress, and he has a regular bed now. Which is good, because the Jaguars need him well-rested now that he has become a significant part of the offense.

Cole played collegiately at Kentucky Wesleyan and had some trouble adjusting to the NFL. He had eight catches in the first seven games as the Jaguars’ No. 3 receiver. He has had 24 catches in the past seven games, including seven for 186 yards and a touchdown in the Jaguars’ recent victory over the Texans. He also had a 73-yard touchdown catch against the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago.

Cole is averaging 19.0 yards on 32 catches and is just 259 yards away from breaking Justin Blackmon’s team rookie record for receiving yards (865).

It’s crazy to think he began that journey sleeping on the floor, though that’s a couple of steps up from Mickens’ choice.

“I mean, sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Cole said. “I probably would rather be -- OK, no, I’d probably rather be on the floor in my apartment.

“You’ve actually got to work your way in. You make it, the money doesn’t just come. You’ve got to make it to the first game -- that’s when you get your first check. They don’t just throw money as soon as you get in. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do sometimes.”