The Seahawks Pro Bowl left tackle was walking deliberately, if somewhat gingerly because of the back spasms that had sidelined him since the second day of training camp.
But this time, there was something different. Jones was wearing his shell pads, and he had his helmet in his left hand.
Then, he smiled.
Jones was back, even if his efforts were limited to playing his usual position on the scout team that worked against the Seahawks defense in the team’s final practice before Saturday night’s preseason opener against the Chargers in San Diego.
“You know, I don’t know that Walt has ever taken scout team snaps in his life,” coach Jim Mora said after the brisk workout. “But today, he did. How about that? Walter Jones on the scout team.”
Walter Jones back on the practice field – regardless of the role – was good enough, even if he won’t play against the Chargers.
“I did some scout team when I first came into the league,” Jones said when asked about Mora’s comment. “In my career, I had to do some scout team. It’s not something that’s strange to me.”
No matter how strange it looked to others.
But it was a good step – a needed step – toward getting Jones back where he belongs, and the team needs him.
“They were doing a lot of stuff for San Diego,” Jones said of the No. 1 units working against things the aggressive Chargers likely will throw at them. “So I didn’t want to mess with that. I knew I wasn’t going to be playing in the game. So I told them I just wanted to come out here today just to move around and see how things felt.”
Aside from the back, there’s also his left knee, which needed microfracture surgery in December. The rehab from that forced Jones to miss the spring minicamps and OTA sessions, and still was a factor when he did participate in the first practice of training camp.
“The first time I came out, I don’t think I was completely ready to be out there,” Jones said. “I went though it, but I don’t think I was completely ready.”
Then came the back spasms.
“You just have to clear your mind,” Jones said of moving forward. “You had a major surgery. You just have to try to clear that, and now that’s done and hopefully I can come out here and get a few practices in so the team can feel good about me being back on the football field.”
Feel good? That doesn’t come close to describing Mora’s demeanor.
“It was great to see Walt out there,” he said. “I think it fired everybody up.”
Including Jones. “I felt good,” he said. “This is the best I have felt in a long time. Compared to the first time I came out for training camp to now, it’s the best I have felt. I took that time off to get focused and to try to get myself ready for the season.”
With Jones back Thursday, and center
Spencer did more Thursday than he did Wednesday, and Mora said there is a good possibility that Spencer will start against the Chargers.
“In talking to Spence, he sounded like he was ready to go,” Mora said. “He worked today, he looked fine. He wasn’t gimping, and I think that’s important.
“If he’s able to play, he’s going to start.”
But the key ingredient remains having a healthy Walter Jones at left tackle. That’s why Thursday was a big step, for him and the team – even if that step was limited to working on the scout team.
“It is,” Jones said when asked if the scout team duty was a good way to wade back into it. “There’s no pressure. Just come out and work your stuff. You’re going against the defense and they are working their stuff.
“It was a good test.”
