IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys don't have a ton of depth at the cornerback position, with just four players on the roster.
So the fact Mike Jenkins played only snap in Sunday's game against the Panthers is quite alarming, especially since he was healthy enough to play.
So far this season, Jenkins has played rather well in limited opportunities. He's played some at safety in nickel satiations, and has been inserted into defensive sub-packages as a cornerback at random times.
Jenkins made a lot of headlines this summer when he missed all of the voluntary practices in the offseason and chose to rehab his shoulder surgery in Florida. He was not healthy enough to play until Week 2 of the regular season, where he played six snaps against Seattle.
The next week against the Bucs, Jenkins played half the game on defense, getting 31 of 60 snaps in a variety of roles, some even as the base defense corner as Brandon Carr played some safety.
Since that game however, Jenkins' playing time has dropped more and more each week.
He had just 15 snaps out of 55 against Chicago, followed by just six of the 51 plays in Baltimore. Then just one play from scrimmage on Sunday seems to signal the Cowboys just don't have Jenkins in the plans here as of late.
While Jerry Jones was adamant about keeping him on the roster this year and having plenty of cornerback depth, Jenkins hasn't been used much in the last few weeks. And considering his play-count has dropped from 31 to 15 to six and now one in the last four games – if that trend continues he could be headed for deactivation on game day, especially since he doesn't help on special teams.
Jenkins is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and while the signs have long been on the wall that this could be his final season in Dallas, his playing time over the last month seems to be yet another indication.
