Cyrus Jones is looking to make an NFL comeback just nine months after having open-heart surgery, the former cornerback told The Baltimore Sun.
Jones, 26, a second-round pick by the New England Patriots, played four seasons as a defensive back and returner before being placed on the Non-Football Injury list last November. Doctors in Denver discovered a congenital coronary defect, which required open-heart surgery.
He currently is training three to four times a week and is hoping to soon be cleared by his doctors.
“When you go through something like that, it forces you to dig deep and kind of figure out who you truly are, what you’ve really got in you and how much you’re willing to sacrifice to get back out there and chase your dream again,” Jones told The Sun. “I found out that I’m even more unbreakable than I thought I was. I’ve been through a lot in my career, and having all that thrown on top of it definitely could have been a catastrophic thing. I could have just kind of given up, but that’s never been me.”
After two disappointing seasons in New England, Jones joined his hometown Ravens in 2018. He showed flashes as a returner, bringing back a punt 70 yards for a touchdown against the Raiders.
But Jones struggled with ball security and was released on Nov. 12, just nine days after he fumbled a punt against the Patriots. He was signed the following day by
CINCINNATI — Add captain to the list of Joe Burrow’s titles.
The Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback was named one of seven team captains before he makes his NFL debut Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wednesday’s announcement is not a surprise considering how teammates have complimented his leadership since the team convened for the 2020 season.
1 Related
“It makes you feel good for sure,” Burrow said in July. “But I’m going to have to continue to do my job. If I don’t play well, that all goes out the window. That’s what I’m focused on right now is playing really, really well and doing my job.”
Three of the team’s seven captains — Burrow, safety ?Vonn Bell and linebacker Josh Bynes — were not on the team last season.
On Monday, Bengals second-year coach Zac Taylor said Burrow has been cemented as the team’s starter for so long that it felt as if it occurred “years ago.” The top pick in the 2020 draft is the lone quarterback taken in the first round to be named his team’s Week 1 starter.
After a preseason scrimmage, Taylor said Burrow’s leadership in the huddle is one of the reasons he felt the recent Heisman Trophy winner was unquestionably the team’s top quarterback. That wasn’t lost on his teammates.
“To be honest, I think what popped off the most about Joe Burrow is his leadership and how he takes the huddle,” Bengals running back
Burrow has also been out front in other matters. The team selected the rookie to deliver half of the team’s recent public statement denouncing racism. “My teammates have done a great job of making me feel comfortable and part of the team, and that’s not always the case as a rookie,” Burrow said Aug. 30. “So it really did make me feel at home.” The Bengals are looking to bounce back from a 2-14 season in 2019, the franchise’s worst record in 17 years. “Any time you play the first game, you want to come out and play really well,” Burrow said Wednesday. “Win the game and kinda jump-start your season. At the same time, it’s a long season. I’m obviously focused on Game 1, but we got 16, 17 other games. … I’m not out there to win, go .500, squeak into the playoffs. I’m here to win games and win championships.”
Only one NFL player produced a confirmed positive coronavirus test during the league’s most recent testing period, another encouraging report as the league prepares this week to open its 2020 regular season.
According to data released Tuesday, the league tested 2,641 players and 5,708 other personnel between Aug. 30 and Sept. 5. In addition to the one player, seven other staff members also produced a positive result. Since the true start of training camp Aug. 12, a total of 24 people have produced confirmed positive tests.
The NFL’s last “normal” moment was the annual scouting combine, held from Feb. 23 to March 2 in Indianapolis.
Amid the routine of that week, league executives focused on finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement with players. Teams locked in on scouting college players and setting plans for the start of free agency. The global spread of COVID-19 had just started to seep into the national consciousness, but few had conceived a future in which the virus could impact a regular season that was six months away.
And yet here we are. The NFL is set to open Thursday night amid a set of coronavirus pandemic protocols that have transformed its operations at every level. You know about the major changes: a virtual offseason program, no preseason games and a softened training camp that centered on preventing soft-tissue injuries after months of football inactivity.
What follows are 15 of the smaller changes, from the slightly weird to the completely wacky, that you might never have imagined would be necessary to safely play football. All of these protocols are subject to change but will be in effect at least for Week 1.
Electronic whistles are in
2 Related