Week In Review: What Role Will Adam Jones Have This Weekend?

Most of you know that most of the Cincy Jungle staff hold regular jobs and/or going to school to further their respective education into the field of journalism. And while my "day job" consists of many issues that requires patience while waiting for results to further the jobs, along my ability to multi-task, keeping Cincy Jungle updated hasn't been too difficult. A project at my day job crushed that this week, forcing much of my time to resolve the system-wide implementation of new software. If there are any computer/system technicians reading this, you know that implementing a new system-wide policy never goes flawlessly. That being said Jason Garrison and crew managed the site quite well. Yet the road block I'm hitting is that now I'm just as much a reader as most of you, catching up on the news of the day. So a week in review is called for, if for anything to catch myself up on the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as rehashing the news of the week.

+ What Role Will Adam Jones Have? With Cedric Benson facing a one-game suspension this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks, it frees a spot on the 53-man roster. For weeks we've heard that Adam Jones was medically cleared, ready to kickoff his regular season after spending seven weeks on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a neck he's been rehabilitating for a calendar year.

On Friday the Bengals added Jones to the 53-man roster. What role he will have is unknown. We suspect that Jones will play a handful of snaps on defense, as a nickel or fourth defensive back as he slowly gets back into football shape. One thing boding well for Jones' playing time is an apparent ankle injury that Morgan Trent suffered during practice, currently listed as questionable for this weekend against the Seahawks. That being said, unless he has a disastrous return to Seattle, Kelly Jennings will likely take the most snaps if a third cornerback is called. Otherwise the team has mostly used three safeties during five defensive back formations, moving Chris Crocker as the third cornerback and bringing Gibril Wilson into the game.

There's a possibility that Jones could return punts, but one has to point out that Brandon Tate has vastly improved as a punter returner since the start of the season. Of players with 15 punt returns or more this season, Tate's 10.6 yard/return average ranks sixth in the NFL. Along with Tate's rapid improvements, we can't see Jones, after rehabilitating for nearly a year with a neck injury, returning punts during his first game back. At the same time, it could be an eventuality if Tate's improvement peaks because punt return is a critical component in the field position game; something that the Bengals have been actively playing -- especially during the second and third quarters.