The strange odyssey of Sidney Jones grows even stranger.
With Orlando Scandrick released, Cre'Von LeBlanc not eligible to return from Injured Reserve until Monday and Avonte Maddox still in concussion protocol, Jones is the only logical candidate to play in the slot for the Eagles Sunday against the Bills.
Yes, the same Sidney Jones who was benched Sunday in Dallas and never got off the bench.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz met with the media on Tuesday but declined to confirm that Jones will be the Eagles' starting slot corner Sunday in Buffalo.
"We'll see," Schwartz said. "He can play that position. Obviously, Malcolm (Jenkins) can play that position … and then sometime we'll ... get Cre'Von and Avonte back too, so we've got a lot of different players who can play in that position, but Sid started last year in that position and was able to hold that position, so we have confidence that whoever we put in there will be able to accomplish that role.
To recap:
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• Jones began the season rotating with Rasul Douglas opposite Ronald Darby.
• He started three games after Darby got hurt.
• He left the Packers game early with a hamstring injury.
• He missed the Jets game with the hamstring.
• He had a nightmarish game in the loss to the Vikings.
• He was benched Sunday for the Cowboys.
Now he's most likely your slot. Temporarily.
Jalen Mills and Douglas started outside Sunday night in Dallas with Scandrick in the slot. But the Eagles released Scandrick on Monday.
On Sunday, Mills and Douglas or Darby will start in Buffalo. Douglas and Darby don't play in the slot, and Jones and Craig James are the only other healthy corners on the roster.
How far has Jones fallen in the Eagles' cornerback hierarchy?
In the Cowboys game, it was James who got a handful of snaps outside while Jones - active and in uniform - stayed on the sidelines.
"He was in a backup role," Schwartz said. "We had an injury outside just for a couple plays. Craig was backing up the outside and he was backing up the inside, so he still had a role.
So Jones, the 43rd pick in the 2017 draft, is now behind an undrafted 23-year-old street free agent who has had two stints on the practice squad this year and has already been released once this year by the Eagles.
And after playing 175 snaps of outside cornerback the first month and a half of the season and 52 snaps outside just seven days earlier, he apparently suddenly lost the ability to play outside corner because he practiced inside during the week.
Jones wasn't in the locker room on Tuesday while it was open to the media.
Jones is only 23. His career has been marked by inconsistency, injuries and now a benching.
Now he's a backup at a position where the Eagles' two best options are about to return in the next couple weeks, and he's not even practicing at the position he began the season.
This isn't trending in the right direction.
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