When Jonathan Jones made his debut in 11-on-11 drills in New England's preseason practices on Sunday, the former Auburn standout stepped in as the slot cornerback with the first-team defense.
Maybe it was an indication of Jones' status, or maybe it was the Patriots' coaches trying to get an assessment against NFL starters of where the former Auburn standout stood in his return from an ankle injury.
"It's just like thrown back into the fire," Jones said. "When you get back out there, you've got to be ready to go and compete with the guys out there with you. They're depending on you. It felt good to be back out there. Hopefully will be able to keep building on it."
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New England has a hole to fill in its secondary. Former West Alabama standout Malcolm Butler hardly came off the field for the Patriots in the previous three seasons -- until the cornerback's mysterious absence from Super Bowl LII in February. The next month, Butler signed a five-year, $61.25 million contract with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent.
Stephen Gilmore is acknowledged as New England's top cornerback. Eric Rowe has started 10 games -- and missed 15 -- in the past two seasons for the Patriots. New England has nine other cornerbacks on its preseason roster, including 2018 second-round draft choice Duke Dawson from Florida and two players who didn't get off the physically-unable-to-perform list until last week -- Jones and former Alabama standout Cyrus Jones, who missed the 2017 season because of a knee injury in the Patriots' final preseason game last year.
Jonathan Jones suffered his ankle injury in the fourth quarter of the Patriots' 35-14 playoff victory over the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 13. The injury caused Jones to miss New England's 24-20 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship game and 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
In his two seasons in the NFL since earning a spot on the Patriots as an undrafted rookie, Jones hadn't missed a game before the injury, playing in 32 regular-season and four postseason contests.
"That's part of the game. Injuries are part of the game," Jones said. "I think for this year, just to build on it and come out and try to contribute more and more to the team."
Jones might get his chance to play against the Eagles on Thursday. Philadelphia will visit the Patriots at 6:30 p.m. CDT to open the second full week of the NFL's preseason schedule.
"Feels good to be back working with the guys," Jones said. "Just trying to catch up. They've been working, putting in hard work, and I'm just trying to catch up and get back on their level."
If Jones isn't already on the safe list when it comes to making the regular-season roster, his ability on special teams should add an extra plus on his side.
Jones established himself as a core special-teamer from the start. While he played only 64 defensive snaps with the New England defense as a rookie, he was on the field for 307 special-teams plays.
Last season, Jones had 289 special-teams plays, the second-most on the Patriots, while his defensive snaps soared to 439 with Gilmore and Rowe missing time with injuries.
Jones turned in two particularly dramatic plays for the Patriots' defense in 2017. In New England's 19-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Oct. 5, Jones knocked down a pass in the end zone on the final play of the game. In the Patriots' 21-13 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 29, Jones intercepted a pass at the New England 1-yard line on the Chargers' final snap of the game.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
from Auburn Sports Impact http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/08/jonathan_jones_ready_to_play_a.html
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