Pro Bowl CB Byron Jones to come off bench in Cowboys vs. Giants

FRISCO - Byron Jones split this week’s practice reps as a starting cornerback knowing he’d end up as. Week 1 part-time starter. And that is indeed the case for the Pro Bowler as we ready for today’s Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants opener.

Jones was doing every imaginable "extra'' thing to be ready to play today ... and he will. But is "extra'' enough to make him a full-timer? Is "extra'' enough to allow him to start?

ESPN notes this morning that Jones won’t start; I’m told Anthony Brown will likely be on the field to open the game.

Jones underwent hip surgery back on March 27 and missed all of training camp while rehabbing. I'm told he even sustained a minor setback in Oxnard before getting back on track, the positive results tied to what was literally almost daily offseason work here inside The Star accompanied by trainer Britt Brown. The Cowboys have listed him as a "full participate'' this week in practice and that is technically true. But in talking to a couple staffers, it's also true that Jones hasn't taken all of the first-team snaps, sharing those with Anthony Brown.

If the entire group was healthy, they'd line up with Jones and Chidobe Awuzie at the corners, with Brown handling the slot corner and Jourdan Lewis behind them. But ... the coaching staff is still waiting for Jones to completely establish that he's fully healthy.

"We'll take our time making that decision,'' Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli told me. "It might be smart to let Byron kind of 'ramp up' his way back.''

That means "ramp up gradually.'' Dallas' depth allows it to take some care here, though it is clear that Byron, a Pro Bowler last year, wants his job back. As he's in his final contractual year here, there is a lot of money riding on his performance. As this is all about real NFL games here, there is a lot riding on the Cowboys' work, period.

Fascinating scene to start #Cowboys Friday practice: Pro Bowl CB Byron Jones - working like mad to start Sunday v #Giants - testing himself w reps of coach Kris Richard running physical routes at him. pic.twitter.com/4PDu6SF72N
— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) September 6, 2019

So, all sorts of "extras'' of the sort I witnessed at the start of Friday's practice, when he and assistant coach Kris Richard matched up against one another for a series of sideline tests. Richard played 'receiver,' trying to come off the line and at Jones in a physical way; Jones' job was to return the physicality and stick with his man.

Byron Jones -- who has not missed a single game in his four-year NFL career -- did his job Friday. He won’t miss this game, either; just the start of it.