Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Can Sidney Jones really get any better?

Everything comes down to this for Sidney Jones’ Philadelphia Eagles career.

You watched it while it was happening, and then, you’ve been reminded of the story so many times that you can probably tell this portion yourselves. Once upon a time, in March of 2017 to be exact, Sidney Jones was a Washington Huskies product that the Philadelphia Eagles and much of the league saw as a first-round talent.

Then, he tore his Achilles tendon during Washington’s Pro Day, and everything changed. It’s unfortunate, but it’s life. Following his surgery on March 21st of that year, there were still interested parties, Philly included, but there was no way anyone was using a first-round selection to acquire the rights to his services.

In the end, the “Birds” decided the best course of action was to take him in Round 2 of 2017’s draft, give him what equates to a medical redshirt, and hope that he could return to the physical form that he possessed pre-injury. There isn’t an Eagles fan in the Delaware Valley or anywhere else in the country that hasn’t watched the maturation process or doesn’t know what’s happened since.

To put things bluntly, the experiment isn’t working and a few plays down the stretch in 2019 versus non-playoff teams don’t change that. 2020 is his last chance to prove he belongs on this team. It could be his last chance to prove that he belongs on an NFL roster. The question is why should we believe he’ll ever be any better than he is right now? Here are arguments to support and refute the theory that he can be. We begin with the positives.