Byron Jones has a lot of things on his plate as the No. 1 cornerback of the Dallas Cowboys. His mission is to prove that 2018 was no fluke, that he truly is one of the game’s best cornerbacks and an elite player worthy of continuous Pro Bowl and All-Pro accolades. Standing in his way is a hip injury suffered sometime during the 2018 season that required offseason surgery.

When the injury and under-the-knife plans were revealed earlier in the year, there was a projected timeline that would have Jones miss most of the offseason work and still be held out into training camp. Jones, however, on the final day of organized team activities, isn’t subscribing to that theory. Rapid improvement in the hip leads him to believe he can be ready to go by the beginning of camp in late July.

From the team’s website:

“Overall, rehab is going well. Working on it every day. I’m starting to do lower-body lifts,” Jones said. “The frustrating part is I want to go, and I feel I can run. But I have to listen to the (athletic trainers), and so I’m taking my time, being patient and just doing what they’re telling me to do.” But ultimately, the goal isn’t for Jones to be ready this summer, or even make it back for next week’s three-day minicamp. He is eyeing the start of training camp in late July as a true target date for his return. “Definitely. I want to be back at training camp,” Jones said. “I want to be back with my teammates and play in the preseason games. That’s the target.”

This accelarated timeline shouldn’t be a surprise. Jones famously snapped his knee back into place and kept it pushing a few years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eBL13nqHZQ

Jones had an iconic year at right cornerback for the Cowboys. After spending the majority of his first three seasons playing a hybrid defensive back role and spending far too many snaps at safety, Kris Richard moved him to boundary corner and the 2015 first-round pick flourished. He was as lockdown a defender as there could be in today’s NFL, allowing under 50% completions in seven of the team’s first 12 games.

It was in the 12th game, against New Orleans, where Jones may have suffered the injury. His play certainly wasn’t on par after that point, giving up a passer rating over 138 on throws in his direction in three of his final six games, and over 90 in five of those six.

His play was so good over the first stretch of the season though, it didn’t much matter, earning Jones high praise and a second-team All-Pro nod.

Pro Football Focus recently named him one of four NFL prototypes for press-man coverage corners.

Jones has a lot on the table in 2019, so getting back on the field is imperative. He is going to play the season on his fifth-year option, meaning he is slated to be an unrestricted free agent in 2020. Even with the option being based on the transition tag, Jones is severely underpaid. The option is based on the position played during the player’s third season, which for Jones was at safety – a less rewarded position than corner.

Granted, $6.3 million surely isn’t chump change, but it’s about $3 million less than if Dallas had been playing him at corner all along. The Cowboys are looking to work out long-term agreements with many of their young stars, but have QB Dak Prescott, WR Amari Cooper, RB Ezekiel Elliott and even possibly LB Jaylon Smith ahead of Jones in their hierarchy.

That could lead to Jones receiving the franchise tag in 2020, to make sure Dallas doesn’t lose him. The entire cornerback depth chart is full of rentals at this point, making things even more difficult.

Anthony Brown, the starter in the slot, is also on an expiring deal, and No. 2 and No. 4 corners, Chido Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis, will have their contracts expire after 2020. Dallas drafted Miami’s Michael Jackson in the fifth round of the 2019 draft, hoping he can learn quickly and be inserted in the rotation to help offset any depth.

Jones doesn’t seem to have plans for that to happen on his watch, for his position.

“You always want to be better than the previous year. That’s always my goal,” Jones said. “That’s really my philosophy in life – just be better than the day before. Just keep building on top of that.”

If he gets back in time for a full training camp, there’s no reason to question his ability to do so.