Sunday’s padded practice- the first for the Cowboys this training camp- was a costly one for the team and its rebuilding efforts along the offensive line.
Robert Jones, the 26-year-old veteran who in March was signed to a one-year contract worth $3.75 million, broke a bone in his neck during the day’s work session, according to a report from ESPN’s Todd Archer and Adam Schefter. He is expected to miss two to three months.
Jones went undrafted out of Middle Tennessee State in 2021 and played his first four pro seasons with the Dolphins. He has 51 game appearances (playoffs included) on his NFL résumé and 32 starts, including every game last season for Miami.
For the Cowboys, Jones had been considered by most to be a key depth piece along the front five. But he had been swapping in for first-round draft pick Tyler Booker at right guard in recent days, getting some reps with the first-team offense.
“I’m just out here and doing whatever the team needs me to do,” Jones said last week. “Whether I come out and the coach says I go out with the ones, if coach says I’m with the twos, I’m with the twos. If he says three, I’m with the threes. I’m out here to play football, no egos. Wherever he want me to go, I’ll go.”
Now set to undergo rehab, Jones’s role could switch to that of mentor for the highly-touted Alabama rookie.
“You can tell he’s going to be a great player in this league for a long time,” Jones has said of Booker. “You can see the work ethic; you can see he just wants to keep growing. I told Book when he first got here, he trained in the offseason, ‘I’m here to help you. Whatever you need help with, I’m going to help you. If I see something, I’m here to tell you. I want you to be the best version of yourself. When you go out there Week 1, its time to kick those boys.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
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