ARLINGTON, Texas -- Will Felix Jones start? Will he take away touches from DeMarco Murray? Will Jones return kicks? Will he ever share the backfield with Murray? How much will Jones play?

Calm down, people.

There seems to be this sense around Dallas-Fort Worth that Jones' return to the Dallas Cowboys' lineup -- he practiced Wednesday and is expected to play Sunday against Washington -- is somehow going to negatively affect Murray.

Felix Jones won't get as many carries, but he can still deliver explosive plays -- which was the role he was drafted for in the first place. AP Photo/Tim Sharp

How foolish.

Murray has the best four-game rushing total in franchise history. For the foreseeable future, his role ain't changing.

He's going to get his carries and touches. Jones, Phillip Tanner and anyone else must get in where they fit in. Jason Garrett made that pretty clear on Wednesday.

Frankly, Jones' return to the lineup is the best injury news Garrett has had in quite a while.

Jones is a niche back, a 6-foot, 200-pound change-of-pace runner who will add a dynamic dimension to the Cowboys' offense. Any suggestion the Cowboys can't use a player with his talent and ability is pure poppycock.

Finally, Jones is poised to have the same role with the Cowboys that he had at Arkansas. You know, when he used to carry the ball nine or 10 times a game after Darren McFadden had softened the defense.

Most times, defenses couldn't handle his combination of speed, acceleration and quickness, leading to big play after big play.

There's no need to make Jones a starter again.

Ever.

It won't work. Jones simply isn't durable enough to consistently carry the ball 20 times a game. Or even 15.

That, friends, is reality.

There's no shame in that because running back is the game's most physically demanding position. It's the reason most runners fall off a cliff statistically when they hit 30.

Jones missed the last 10 games of his rookie season, and he has missed the past four games with a high-ankle sprain. In four seasons, he has completed one 16-game campaign.

He's carried the ball more than 20 times just once in four seasons; Murray has done it in three of the past four games.

It is what it is -- and it doesn't take a Princeton graduate such as Garrett to figure it out.