Jones on recovery from torn Achilles: ‘Getting better every day’

The circumstances aren’t ideal, but Sidney Jones is optimistic about his ability to contribute to an NFL team as soon as September.

The University of Washington cornerback told Alex Marvez and Bill Polian that he’s on target to return after six months of recovery from a surgically repaired ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered at his school’s Pro Day on March 12.

‘The first two weeks, post-surgery, I couldn’t do anything’

“The first two weeks, post-surgery, I couldn’t do anything,” Jones said. “The doctor didn’t want me to work out, really, but after that happened two weeks out, I started lifting and doing my rehab when I got the cast off, so two weeks out of surgery. That definitely got me doing stuff so I could feel productive, basically.

“So, I started back lifting every day and doing my rehab and I just feel more productive throughout the day doing stuff like that. Getting better every day and make myself feel productive.”

‘After my freshman season, that’s when it all kind of turned around and clicked for me’

One quality Jones has that has been particularly attractive to NFL scouts, and should allow him to be drafted relatively high, is the fact he his a true student of the game. He invests a great deal of time studying video.

“After my freshman season, that’s when it all kind of turned around and clicked for me,” he said. “Freshman year was just me getting my feet wet, I just got thrown into the fire. I’ve been starting since my freshman year. But after that season, we got our coach and player eval with my position coach. He just challenged me to take that next step. I was just watching film. That was a big part of my progression as a player. He basically taught me what to look for, what to do and I did that and that definitely changed my game and took my game to the next level.”