09-04-2007, 11:05 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,225
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Jets' RB Thomas Jones returns to practice for first time since Aug. 12 ankle injury
Jets' RB Thomas Jones returns to practice for first time since Aug. 12 ankle injury
Quote:
Jets running back Thomas Jones wasn't about to take another day off just because it was Labor Day. For the first time since he injured his right calf on Aug.12, Jones suited up yesterday and practiced with his teammates.
Eric Mangini, always secretive when it comes to injuries, would not comment on Jones' rehabilitation or speculate on his ability to play when the Jets open the season Sunday against the Patriots. According to NFL rules, the Jets do not have to release a list of injured players until tomorrow.
Still, in pads and doing drills, Jones looked like he will play in the opener.
Jones missed a majority of training camp and made only a fleeting appearance in the preseason opener, carrying eight times for 27 yards and a touchdown, before getting hurt during practice at Hofstra. Mangini, however, said he did not expect Jones, acquired from the Bears in March, to take long to fit into the Jets offense.
"I definitely think it's important to work with the group as much as you can. The one thing that's different is when you have a veteran player who's been exposed to multiple systems," Mangini said. "The things they can draw on going into a game without that level of practice is much better than if you had a young guy who is in the same situation, a high draft pick running back that had been out of camp."
The Jets need Jones, who did individual and position drills with running backs coach Jimmy Raye, to find his fit with this group quickly.
The Jets, 20th in the league in rushing last year, expect Jones to be their feature back, but are comfortable with 5-8, 202-pound Leon Washington contributing heavily after 151 rushes as a rookie last year.
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Good news for Jets fans and fantasy owners.
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