Philadelphia Eagles: Did Sidney Jones just cement himself as a starter?
Make no mistake, Sidney Jones was the Philadelphia Eagles’ best cornerback in Week 17, but has his improved play earned the third-year pro a starting role?
A month ago, Sidney Jones was an afterthought.
Heck, a month ago to the day Jones was a healthy scratch in the Philadelphia Eagles loss to the Miami Dolphins, a game that put us in this gosh darn predicament in the first place.
And yet, over the past four games, Jones not only played but made plays at a clip fans in the 215 haven’t seen from a cornerback all season.
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It all started fittingly enough against the Giants in Week 14, where Jones broke up an Eli Manning pass on his only defensive snap. That lead to a tripled workload in Week 15 and 18 snaps against the Cowboys, and again, Jones made a fourth-quarter play to end a vital Dallas drive.
On those two plays alone, Jones’ roster spot in 2020 appeared safe, but that wasn’t good enough for Mr. 43rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. No, with a full game showcase his growth on the outside across from the slowest cornerback in the biz Rasul Douglas – and boy did he ever run with it.
We’re talking five tackles, tight coverage, oh yeah, and a game-sealing interception to close out the season on the brightest of spots.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1211443386365775872?s=20
Don’t mind me asking, but when is the last time you saw Ronald Darby make a play like that? Week 2? 2017? Never?
To be fair, I’m not one to compare two players unless it’s for educational reasons, but with Darby set to become a free agent when the season comes to a close, one has to wonder if the Eagles will offer their ‘top’ cornerback another one-year, $13 million deal – or worse, a long-term deal?
Granted, I’m not suggesting that any four-game stretch is enough to cement a player as a long-term starter – that is, unless your name is Byron Maxwell – but after falling out of the rotation entirely earlier this year, Jones deserves a chance to compete against Jalen Mills, Avonte Maddox, Cre’von LeBlanc and whomever Howie Roseman opts to add next spring for a role on the outside – his natural position.
Who knows, maybe Jones saw his college teammate Marcus Peters‘ massive new deal with the Baltimore Ravens and wanted to get in on that fortune-changing money? It certainly couldn’t have hurt.
And fortunately for Jones, he’ll have at least one more game to prove his worth to Roseman, Jim Schwartz, and Philly’s faithful.
Next. The season is saved by a back named Boston. dark
Will the Philadelphia Eagles corner ever live up to his pre-draft pedigree coming out of Washington? Only time will tell, but after drawing the ire of a fanbase desperate for a homegrown shutdown cornerback, it’s safe to say Sidney Jones will be called a bust no more. Hopefully next season, he can also be called something else: The starting cornerback for a two-time NFL Champion.