IRVING, Texas -- Defensive end Edgar Jones rejoined the Cowboys' active roster Saturday after an eight-week absence. The team released linebacker Orie Lemon to make room for Jones on the 53-man roster.
Jones suffered a groin/abdominal strain in the Cowboys' Sept. 29 loss to San Diego, and he was placed on the reserve/injured list in October with a designation to return. NFL rules allowed Jones to resume working with the team after six weeks, but this weekend's game against Green Bay was his determined date to be eligible for return to the roster.
"With the rules, I feel like I could have come back earlier than the rules were set for. I kind of felt like, around week six, I was feeling back to myself," Jones said Wednesday. "The good thing about that rule, though, there wasn't any rush on it. That was the thing I had to be careful about – not trying to rush it and getting hurt."
The Cowboys traded their 2014 sixth round draft pick to Kansas City in return for Jones and a 2014 seventh round pick after the preseason. Jones played in all four games during the first month of the season and tallied five tackles.
Lemon joined the team from Arizona's practice squad following the bye week. He played in five games for Dallas during the 2012 season and notched five tackles, which prompted the Cowboys to sign him while Sean Lee and Justin Durant recovered from hamstring injuries.
During that time span Lemon appeared in two of three games and didn't record a tackle.
