Dallas Cowboys hoping for early return of Mike Jenkins – NFL News
Into final year of his present contract with the Dallas Cowboys, cornerback Mike Jenkins did not have a very ideal offseason as apart from recovering from a shoulder injury, he remained in the limelight for his lack of interest in the team’s activities.
The first-round pick of the 2008 draft is certainly a valuable player for the team, but Jenkins was disappointed with a couple of offseason moves by the team.
The Cowboys drafted Morris Claiborne, who is also a cornerback, in the first round of this year’s draft besides signing another cornerback, Brandon Carr, before the draft.
Since Jenkins did not receive contract extension, he realised that his future with the team was not secure and he reportedly asked to be traded as well.
However, the Cowboys hope that the situation does not affect Jenkins’ performance. Jenkins, who has not yet been cleared to participate in rigorous drills, is present at training camp, but he will soon leave it to see his doctor.
According to the details present on the team’s official website, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett is hopeful that the player will be back in action completely before the start of the regular season in September. Garrett said:
“We’re hopeful over the course of the next week or two that he can get out there and start practicing and playing in the preseason – probably not by the first preseason game, maybe not even by the second preseason game, but certainly by the end of the preseason,
we’d like to see him playing in some NFL games.”
Garrett also believes that Jenkins was taken over by emotions as the team acquired a couple of more players at his position. However, the coach is of the view that Jenkins is competitive enough to return and compete for more playing time. He said:
“Once those emotions settle a little bit, you come back in and you say, ‘OK, this is my situation. What’s the best thing for me to do?’ And I think, typically, if you have a guy who is a competitor, he’s going to come back in and compete.”
If Jenkins returns in time, it is expected that the Cowboys will use rotation policy and use different faces at cornerback throughout the season.
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