IRVING, Texas - Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones is back. Again.

Initially feared to miss the remainder of the season, Jones made a swift and surprising recovery from a herniated disk in his neck and is expected to play Saturday against Baltimore.

"He's got nine lives, I think," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said.

Doctors have cleared Jones to practice this week. He had limited participation on Wednesday, but Phillips expects him to resume playing in defensive sub-packages on Saturday and possibly return kickoffs and punts.

Jones suffered the injury while trying to recover a muffed punt Dec. 7 against Pittsburgh. Doctors determined Jones' injury was not career-threatening and would not require surgery, but there appeared to be a slim chance he would return quickly, if at all, this season.

"It surprised everybody, but the doctors said he's fine to go and he practiced today," Phillips said. ". . . It (the swelling) went down and there's no other structural problem there. It looks like he's ready to play."

Jones' return will bolster the Cowboys' cornerback depth, particularly with backup Alan Ball missing practice Wednesday because of a sprained ankle. Rookie Mike Jenkins took Jones' place against the Giants, which allowed starting cornerback Anthony Henry to continue playing safety in sub-packages.

Long List

For a change, the Cowboys got some good news Wednesday regarding the injury front when Adam Jones returned to practice. And it also appears that, despite a bad back, Tony Romo will probably play as well.

But there are still plenty of other injury concerns to go around, starting with running back Marion Barber, who was one of five players that did not practice at all on Wednesday.

Barber is still bothered by a dislocated small toe on his right foot, that kept him out of the Pittsburgh game two weeks ago and limited him last week against the Giants.

Last week, Barber was limited in practice and was a game-time decision before the Cowboys decided to activate him against New York. However, Barber wasn't his usual self, rushing for just two yards on eight carries.

"(It's) similar to where he was last week," Phillips said of Barber. "We'll see how he goes this week with him."

Phillips also said he could envision a scenario in which rookie Tashard Choice would start the game, even if Barber is activated for the Ravens game.

Other injured players include guard Montrae Holland, whom Phillips said would be "a stretch" to play this week with his right ankle injury.

Holland did not practice Wednesday, along with safety Ken Hamlin (foot), cornerback Alan Ball (ankle) and linebacker Bobby Carpenter (knee/calf). However, Phillips said he expects Hamlin to play against Baltimore.

Players limited in Wednesday's practice included Romo, safety Keith Davis (knee/neck) and Roy Williams, who has been bothered by plantar fasciitis in his foot, but has not missed any game action.

- Nick Eatman

Owens Moving Ahead

After a tumultuous week that included reports of dissention within the locker room, wide receiver Terrell Owens was relieved to celebrate his 35th birthday and the win over New York with his family on Monday night.

"No matter what happened last week, I knew they had my back with full support as well as a lot of guys in this locker room," said Owens, whose birthday party also served as a fundraiser for his "Catch a Dream Foundation," that's designed to help needy families.

"It's unfortunate with some of the stuff that happened last week, but you just keep moving on. I'm not going to let it distract me to the point that I can't perform or people try to divide this locker room. We're just going to keep fighting."

Campo's Stadium Memories

Texas Stadium's farewell game holds special significance for secondary coach Dave Campo, who began his NFL coaching career with the Cowboys in 1989 and has spent 15 total years in the organization.

Most of his recollections are positive - like the Cowboys' Monday night, season-opening victory over the defending champion Redskins en route to their own Super Bowl title in 1992, or current offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's backup quarterback heroics on Thanksgiving Day 1994 (15-of-26, 311 yards, two touchdowns in a comeback win over Green Bay).

But Campo's most vivid memory occurred on Thanksgiving Day 1993 against Miami. Leading 14-13 in the final seconds, defensive tackle Leon Lett senselessly attempted to recover a blocked field goal but slipped on the ice and lost control of the ball. The Dolphins recovered at Dallas' one-yard line and kicked the game-winning field goal.

"That might have been my worst day in my coaching history," says Campo, who served as secondary coach at the time, "because we felt that we needed that one to get home-field advantage down the road. And we had it won and it gets taken away. So I was miserable. I think I ran half my family out of town."

Short Shots

Former NFL greats Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders, a member of the Cowboys' Super Bowl XXX team, visited Wednesday's practice. Faulk and Sanders will work as analysts on Saturday's NFL Network game broadcast . . . Saturday's game will mark the Cowboys' fourth game against the AFC this season. Since 1970, the Cowboys own the NFC's highest winning percentage (.576) against AFC teams. They have a 2-1 inter-conference record this year, beating Cleveland and Cincinnati and losing to Pittsburgh.