Whether that comes on the playing field still appears to be a game-time decision, but New York's star running back remained optimistic Friday about the progress of his strained right calf.
"I'm feeling a lot better," Jones said Friday, reiterating his comments from earlier in the week.
Jones was injured during drills on Aug. 12 and hadn't practiced again until this week.
"The trainers have done a great job of getting me back on the practice field and getting me to go through some drills and things like that," he said. "So, we'll see how I feel on Sunday."
Coach Eric Mangini was noncommittal, as usual, regarding Jones' availability for the game against New England.
"He's really what he's been," Mangini said.
The coach said he was encouraged by the progress made by all the Jets' injured players, who include Jones, Justin Miller and Eric Smith.
"They've been doing everything we've asked them to do," Mangini said. "The program in place is a good program. You just have to go through the whole process before you're certain you're going to be able to get a level of performance out of that player and anticipate what that level is, even going into the game, making sure that you're keeping that in mind."
If cleared to play Sunday, Jones might split carries with second-year back Leon Washington.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity," Jones said. "We have a really good game plan. It's a Patriots game and that's a big rivalry up here, so I'm very excited."
Jones' elusiveness in the locker room earlier in the morning might have served as a clear indication he's feeling fine. He quickly made his way past a throng of reporters to get to his locker, said he had to do a conference call and disappeared into one of the back rooms. About 20 minutes later, Jones re-emerged and spoke with the media for 1 minute, taking four questions before being led away by a member of the Jets' media relations staff.
On the practice field, Jones stretched out his calf, which wasn't wrapped, and took part in other drills before taking handoffs in practice. It's unclear if Jones has been running at full speed or making cuts yet because the media get to see only a half-hour of light drills.
Jones was injured early in camp while doing running back-linebacker drills when he went to plant his right foot and fell. He was examined immediately by a trainer, who wrapped the leg. Jones then limped to the sideline and had a more substantial wrap applied.
He spent the rest of camp sidelined, working on his conditioning while allowing the calf to heal. A day after the injury, Jones' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told The Associated Press that the running back told him he was "confident he would be ready" in time for the game against New England.
"I've played a lot of football," Jones said Wednesday. "I'm going into my eighth year, so I've been in a lot of games and a lot of situations, so it's nothing new. I did a lot of conditioning and stayed in the playbook, so I'm not at a disadvantage."
Jones rushed for 1,210 yards and six touchdowns while leading the Bears to the Super Bowl, and is expected to jump-start the Jets' running game, which struggled last season. Despite the missed time in camp, Jones isn't concerned about having to adjust to working with a new set of offensive linemen.
"I've been here the whole offseason, so I worked with them a lot during OTAs and minicamps and during the beginning of training camp," Jones said.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
