Terence Newman was inducted into K-State’s Ring of Honor during halftime at the Wildcats’ first football game on Aug. 30, and with the way his professional season is going, he could have even more vacation time to visit Snyder Family Stadium this year.
The Dallas Cowboys’ cornerback had his best NFL season last year, culminating with his selection to the 2008 Pro Bowl. Newman was hoping to top his 2007 stats with a strong 2008, but those hopes will have to wait. Newman started training camp in the summer, but suffered a tear in his left groin on July 28, according to the Dallas Morning News. Newman was practicing by the end of August but did not see any playing time during preseason games.
It was a possibility that Newman would start at cornerback against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but he didn’t even see a snap. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, since he is barely into his 6-year, $50.2 million contract, according to the Morning News. The Cowboys have the luxury of letting Newman heal since they added Adam “Pacman” Jones to the roster during the offseason.
Jones and Newman both line up at left corner, but competing for the job has been the least of their worries — Newman with his injuries, and Jones with … well, everything encompassing his legal woes. Instead of forcing Newman to play Sunday and risking further injury, the Cowboys allowed him more time to heal by starting Jones.
The Cowboys beat the Browns, and Jones gave himself a C+ grade for his performance, according to the Chicago Tribune. Jones was not the star of the game, nor was he the center of attention, which is good for him, his team and the league. But as Week 2 approaches, it will be interesting to see if the Cowboys think Newman is healthy enough to bench Jones. If Newman is not 100 percent, the Cowboys will not gamble with their $50 million investment. If the team can win and let Newman heal, there is no urgency to push him back into the starting lineup.
Once he and Jones are healthy, the fight for a starting spot will be interesting, but until then, Newman and Jones are codependent — Jones allows Newman to heal and Newman allows Jones to prove himself. Be that as it may, if Newman has another week off, he will have played as many games for K-State this season as he has for Dallas.
Owen Kennedy is a senior in business management. Please send comments to sports@spub.ksu.edu.