Philadelphia Eagles are keeping Sidney Jones in the slot for now
It doesn’t seem like the Philadelphia Eagles are in any rush to throw Sidney Jones on the outside.
The wait is finally over as the Philadelphia Eagles suited up for training camp on Thursday. Aside from a few guys who were thrown onto the ‘PUP’ list, the Eagles are expected to have a decent turn out when it comes to their key guys. One player, in particular, is working on a comeback season as he will pretty much re-debut this September.
Former second-round pick Sidney Jones spent the majority of his rookie season on the sidelines. The former Washington Huskies’ standout suffered an unfortunate non-contact injury back at his pro day a little over a year ago. For that, his draft value took a monster hit as he ended up falling to the Eagles during the second round.
Jones was healthy and ready to go by the end of the 2017 season, but at that point, the Eagles were doing just fine without his services. So Jones ended up being a spectator for the entire playoff run, along with the Super Bowl LII victory. But things are different this time around. Although Jones is still dealing a few minor injuries here and there, he is working on the ultimate comeback for the 2018 season.
Will Jones remain in the slot permanently?
When the Eagles drafted Jones, he looked like the best cornerback on paper. While Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills, Rasul Douglas, and Patrick Robinson had a decent season as a collective, it was clear that the Eagles can never have enough talent in the secondary. Now, Jones is out to prove to his coaches that he is worthy of their second-round pick in 2017.
Although the Eagles cornerback’s struggled at times last season, their former nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson seemed to be consistently making big plays. But without Robinson on board for next year, it is starting to look like the Eagles value the nickel corner position a lot more than teams typically do. Hence why they are keeping arguably their most talented player in the slot.
dark. Next. 5 players on the PUP and NFL lists
Considering it is the first day of camp, nothing is set in stone, obviously. There is still plenty of time for players to get shuffled around, but if day one of training camp is any indication of the starting depth chart for week one, we could realistically assume that Jones will start off as a nickel cornerback for the Eagles, rather than on the outside.