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Mike Jenkins caused national headlines and much knee-jerking when he didn't show up for the voluntary OTAs in the offseason. In the end, when Jenkins did show up for the mandatory mini-camp, it became clear that he was in no condition for any type of football activity. The Cowboys placed Jenkins on the PUP list at the start of camp, and while his condition may have improved some since then, he has still not participated in a single practice so far. The reason being that he still hasn't been cleared to practice following his offseason shoulder injury.
Against this backdrop, Cowboys fans have known for weeks that Jenkins would not be ready for the start of the season. Today, team owner Jerry Jones basically ruled Jenkins out for at least the season opener:
"I don’t think so," Jones said today on KRLD-FM per ESPNDallas.com. "He’s going to have his situation evaluated by his surgeon and it may be a little late in the preseason for him, but that’d be real interesting. If we had an evaluation on him by this weekend, I’d like to have that problem to mull over. I really would."
Jenkins will visit Dr. James Andrews sometime in "the next week or so," according to Jason Garrett, and the Cowboys hope to have Jenkins cleared for practice then. But that will give Jenkins only a handful of practices - if that - before the Giants game, not enough to for a proper preparation. The Cowboys are in no rush to get Jenkins on the field and trust that Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and Orlando Scandrick can hold down the fort for a while. But Jenkins will be ready at some point, and the Cowboys will be glad when they have him back.