Maurice Jones-Drew is no closer to returning to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the running back's holdout is expected to last until the end of the month, and potentially into September, a source familiar with the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Thursday.

According to the source, the Jaguars and Jones-Drew have been in constant contact during his holdout, speaking almost daily. The communication between the sides was termed as cordial, the source said.

Jones-Drew, the NFL's reigning rushing champion, did not report to the start of Jaguars camp late last month, and the team placed him on the reserve/did not report list.

Jacksonville has said it will not renegotiate Jones-Drew's original five-year, $31 million deal, which has two years and roughly $9 million left on it.

Jones-Drew is entering his seventh season. He has rushed for more than 1,300 yards in each of the past three seasons, and he led the league in rushing last year with 1,606 yards. No other back has amassed 1,300-plus rushing yards in each of the past three years.

"It's part of the business," Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert said earlier in training camp. "We can't dwell on that. We can't harp on the fact that he's not here. He'll be here in due time. He'll learn the offense when he gets here. We know what Mo's going to bring to the table day in and day out, game in and game out. He led the league in rushing last year and he's going to do that again this year."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.