OXNARD, Calif. -- Mike Jenkins insists he never asked to be traded by the Dallas Cowboys, even as the former Pro Bowl cornerback did his rehabilitation elsewhere during the offseason while the team added two prominent players at his position.
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There were numerous reports that Jenkins wanted to be dealt while he stayed home in Florida after offseason shoulder surgery. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones repeatedly said that wouldn't happen, and Jenkins said nothing to dispel talk of a trade demand while at the team's mandatory minicamp in June.
"Y'all haven't gotten any quotes out of me yet. As long as it hasn't come from my mouth, I don't understand how a lot of people come up with a lot of things," Jenkins said Monday, the first day of training camp practices. "But that's not my job. My focus right now is to get better and to help the team out."
Jenkins, a first-round pick in 2008 who went to the Pro Bowl the next year, is going into the final season of his rookie contract. It comes after the Cowboys signed free agent Brandon Carr to a $50 million, five-year deal in March and traded up in April's draft to get LSU All-American cornerback Morris Claiborne sixth overall.
Jenkins acknowledged that the additions of Carr and Claiborne were a bit of a shock to him and that "at first" he got a sense that the Cowboys weren't happy with him.
"At the same time, I understand. It's a business" Jenkins said. "There is nothing I can do about it. You've got to respect (Jones). He brought me in. I respect him. He gave me a chance to showcase myself."
Now that he is back with his teammates, Jenkins plans to be positive, even though he doesn't know how things will turn out and is unsure on Jones' contention that his value could be enhanced as part of a cornerback rotation.
"I am here with the Cowboys. I am a part of this organization. I am just going to start focusing with that," Jenkins said. "I don't care whatever everybody else says. I just care about this organization because this is where I am at."
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press
