Sidney Jones’ rookie season may be over already
Philadelphia Eagles rookie cornerback Sidney Jones might’ve played his first and last snaps during Week 17.
The 2017 NFL season hasn’t necessarily been easy for rookie Sidney Jones. When he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles back in the spring, it was obvious he would be missing some significant time. After plenty of speculation about a possible return in October, Jones would not see the field until the final week of the season.
Jones’ finished out his emotional year with a couple of tackles. Although he didn’t get fireworks going early on New Year’s Eve, his opportunity to step on the field was enough for him to be happy. Unfortunately, Jones’ first professional game may have been his last of the season. As we all know, Jones had to leave in the second half of the game. He was dealing with tightness in his hamstring.
Although the injury is not really serious, it may be serious enough to keep him out of the playoffs. The Eagles got back to practice on Tuesday after a few days off. While everyone on the 53-man roster was suited up, not everybody was a full participant. Jones was part of the latter. Even while healthy, his status for Saturday was already in question. Now dealing with a nagging injury, he could very well be watching from the sidelines once again.
Should the Eagles take a gamble?
After getting a taste of competitive football for the first time in a long time, Jones is most likely itching to get back out there. Unfortunately, the current circumstances make it difficult for it to happen. While he may think he is ready to get out there, the playoffs are not the time for the Eagles to experiment with an inexperienced rookie.
Even before the hamstring tightness, it was tough to assume Jones would avoid being inactive on game day. When looking at the rest of the cornerbacks unit, it is safe to say that Rasul Douglas deserves the roster spot.
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Douglas has played some solid football when filling in for Ronald Darby this season. Although he has had some difficult moments, for the most part, he was definitely reliable. So with Douglas’s experience from earlier in the season, the leaves Jones as the obvious man out. At this point, it would probably be best for the Eagles to hold him out until next spring. Then he will be able to get his fair shot at winning a spot on the depth chart come gameday.