By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor
When the Eagles drafted cornerback Sidney Jones with the 43rd overall pick, the general consensus was that Jones would be taking a redshirt year in his rookie season.
The standout corner at Washington was projected to be a first-round pick in the draft until he ruptured his Achilles during Washington's pro day in March, suddenly putting his entire first NFL season in jeopardy.
Still, the Eagles appear to have gotten a great talent with their second pick, but according to a report from Huffington Sports' Jordan Schultz, don't rule out Jones taking the field in 2017.
According to Schultz, Jones' rehab from the Achilles injury is going well and he is expected to "be back on the field" in October.
Re: Sidney Jones and his new 4-year deal with the @Eagles, source also confirms rehab is going well and he will be on the field in October.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 11, 2017
First of all, the tweet from Schultz is rather vague. Is Jones going to be on the field practicing or seeing game action?
There is still a chance that the Eagles go the safe route and don't throw the rookie into the fire off recovery from a major injury. But then again, if Jones is the first-round talent so many proclaimed he was, the Eagles would love to get that kind of talent and potential on the field sooner rather than later.
It still seems unlikely, given the severity of an Achilles injury, and especially when you throw in the general lack of experience the Eagles have at cornerback with second-year corner Jalen Mills and fellow rookie Rasul Douglas likely to see significant playing time.
Regardless, the silver lining here is that, by all accounts, Jones is doing well with his recovery. The timetable remains cloudy, but at least there's a bit of light shining through on what everyone hopes will be a successful recovery.