Could Mike Jenkins be headed to San Fran or Tampa?

Mike Jenkins appears to be ready to leave the Dallas and the Cowboys seem to be accommodating. The question is where will the Southeast High product wind up.

Jenkins, who earned All-American honors at cornerback for USF, is an unrestricted free agent. He has had to battle injuries the last couple of years and was not happy that prior to last season Dallas owner Jerry Jones drafted CB Morris Claiborne and signed free agent CB Brandon Carr to a $50.1 million deal.

Mike Jenkins

The 27 year-old lost his starting job to Claiborne, but then Jenkins wound up starting at the slot corner when Orlando Scandrick injured his hand.

Jenkins reportedly angered Dallas when he did his off season rehab from shoulder surgery in Florida and didn’t attend voluntary workouts with the Cowboys though he was at all the mandatory sessions.

 “Do I want to come back? I’ve been here for five years, I’ve grown attached to everybody here. It’s hard to just get up and leave and not want to come back. At the same time, you want to go somewhere and have a fair opportunity and I guess I go on from there,” Jenkins told ESPNDallas.com.

One possible destination could be Tampa. Bucs head coach Greg Schiano knows Jenkins from his best days when he played against Schiano’s Rutgers teams.

The Bucs are in dire need of cornerbacks and at worse Jenkins has never gotten in trouble ala Tampa’s troubled cornerback Eric Wright, who has been dodging the law since his days at USC.

But another destination could be San Francisco. Jim Leavitt, who was the USF head coach when Jenkins played there, is the linebackers coach for the 49ers. He has always had nothing but good things to say about Jenkins and has considered one of his best all time recruits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jenkins should exercise patience and good things will happen

Mike Jenkins looking for big payday

Mike Jenkins has to turn what seems to be a tough situation in a potential good one that could leave him with a whole lot of greenbacks flowing into his pockets.

The Dallas Cowboys cornerback has been all over the Internet with stories that he is disgruntled because team owner Jerry Jones drafted Morris Claiborne and picked up free agent Brandon Carr thus relegating Jenkins to a backup as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.

But it doesn't have to be that way for the USF All-American who learned his trade at Southeast High.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan says Jenkins might see a lot of time covering the slot receivers and that he wanted all his cornerback to be versatile in that way.

If Mike does a good job there it just adds to his value at the end of next season when he can shop himself on the free market. He isn't going to lose that sub 4.3 speed anytime soon.

But here is another thing to consider. Who is to say Claiborne is better than Mike and can beat Jenkins out despite the fact he will have a bigger contract.

So the best advice for Jenkins is stay quiet, stay cooperative, be the best player you can be and good things should happen.

As he promised, Jenkins showed up at Dallas' minicamp today after missing all of the OTA. Ryan calls Mike a talented guy who return to his All Pro form covering the slot and noted that the Boys will be utilizing three cornerbacks about 65 percent of the time.

Mike Jenkins continues to play like his '09 Pro Bowl season

Mike Jenkins is looking more like the Pro Bowler we saw in ‘09 .

The cornerback out of Southeast was solid against Washington Monday night making three sure-stop solo tackles that prevented a big gain and covered Redskins’ receivers like a blanket.

His only disappointment was not holding onto a potential interception. He continues to play hard despite a sprained shoulder that forced him to temporarily leave the game and has eight solo tackles and two pass deflections in three games.

In his Pro Bowl year in 2009 Jenkins had 19 pass deflections and five interceptions. Last year he slumped to only nine pass deflections and one interception in a season that was considered lost.

Jenkins is determined to get back to his Pro Bowl style of play the the talent he showed at USF. So far this year he has been a sure tackler with eight solo tackles and has been among the best cover corners in the country.

Dallas not yet ready to give up on Mike Jenkins

There are a lot of different opinions on Dallas Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins; the former first round pick who earned All-American honors at USF and was a Blue-Chip prospect out of Southeast High.

Jenkins was a first round pick in 2008. But the question everyone seems to be asking is which Mike are going to see in 2011; if of course there is a 2011 NFL season.

Jenkins was a Pro-Bowler in 2009. Last season he could've been named captain of the NFL's All-Disappointment team.

To be frank, Jenkins was horrible. He allowed the second most yards by a defensive back in the NFL and tied for allowing the 14th most catches.

People are telling Dallas to draft a cornerback or two and draft guru Mel Kiper says it's time to give up on the speedy 6-1, 190 pound defensive back.

But Dallas coaches are so far sticking with him, believing that Jenkins can have a bounce back season in 2011.

"He’s a talented guy. I think he wants to be good, and we as coaches are going to try to get him back where he plays with the right frame of mind and plays with the discipline necessary to allow his talents to come out," Dallas head coach Jason Garrett said.

Raymond may switch to safety to help USF

The USF football coaches have said since the beginning of the season that Mistral Raymond’s versatility was the key to keeping the Bulls secondary cohesive if injuries or other issues come up.

That seems to be true this weekend. The Palmetto High graduate, who has done a solid job at cornerback all season, will most likely switch to safety this Saturday against Syracuse to fill in for Jerrell Young, who is nursing an ankle injury.

A 6-2, 192 pound senior, Raymond has started all four games this year at cornerback, but had four starts and a lot of playing time at safety last year. He leads all the USF defensive backs with 14 tackles and three pass breakups.

Jenkins expected to play Sunday

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins returned to the practice field on Wednesday after being carted off the field last Sunday in the Cowboys 27-20 loss to Chicago.

The former Southeast High/USF standout injured his right knee against Chicago. Initially, it was thought to be serious with talk he might miss at a couple of weeks.

However, MRI tests on Monday revealed that the third year pro had a bruised knee and did not suffer any structural damage.

Jenkins wants to play real bad this Sunday when his winless Cowboys go against the surprising 2-0 Texans, who lead the NFL in total offense, averaging 440 yards per game.

They have one of the best receivers in the game in former University of Miami star Andre Johnson and quarterback Matt Schaub, who is fifth in the league in passing yards (604 yards) and has completed 47 of 69 passes for four touchdowns with two interceptions.

Johnson is fourth in the league with 191 receiving yards and has caught 15 passes (tied for 5th), including one for a touchdown.

Versatile Raymond switches to corner

Mistral Raymond, who was just recently given a scholarship by USF head football coach Skip Holtz, has given the Bulls much needed flexibility in their secondary.

The Palmetto High graduate drew praise from USF defensive coordinator Mark Snyder in last Saturday’s scrimmage. Raymond had been listed as the starting safety and could wind up playing every position in the secondary.

For now, Snyder says he wants to use Raymond at cornerback because it makes the Bulls secondary the strongest when he is at that position. The 6-2, 192 pound senior gained a reputation as a physical player last year when he joined the Bulls from junior college.

But Raymond has improved his cover skills and shown a lot of speed that perhaps people were not aware that he possessed. His presence at cornerback will knock either Quenton Washington or Kayvon Webster out of the starting lineup.

Raymond played his first two years at Ellsworth Community College (Iowa) and led the team in tackles in 2007 with 62. He is the leading returning tackler among the USF defensive backs with 40 with Webster second at 30 tackles.

Washington practices, but no contact allowed

Recovering from two off season surgeries, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Fabian Washington received some good news Friday when he was taken off the physically-unable-to-perform list (PUP).

The former Bayshore High standout took part in afternoon drills his first day back, but is not allowed to get involved in any contact. He had surgery for a torn ACL in his left knee and a bulging disc in his neck. The ACL is the one that concerns team officials.

The Ravens have been hit hard in their secondary with injuries and are trying to bring Washington along slowly so he won’t have any setbacks and be ready sometime during the first quarter of the season. The cornerback suffered the ACL injury in the 12th game last season.

The Ravens lost cornerback Domonique Foxworth to a torn ACL on Thursday making their situation at the position even worse, but team officials insist as bad as they need and want Washington they don’t want to rush the 27-year-old.

Another Baltimore cornerback, Ladarius Webb, is also coming back from knee surgery. The Ravens also have a question mark at safety where six-time pro bowler Ed Reed is recovering from hip surgery.

Washington spent some time this summer working out at IMG with hometown buddies Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie and Mike Jenkins and said he felt ready to go. However conventional wisdom is not to rush things with an injury of his type.