Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones hopeful to be healthy for Week 1

Jones returned to the practice field on Sunday.

While there was lengthy list of absences from the New England Patriots Sunday practice, there also was one notable returnee: cornerback Jonathan Jones.

Jones had been sidelined since Aug. 3 with an undisclosed injury, and while he passed on revealing the details of the injury the cornerback shared he’s hopeful to be ready for the season opener in two weeks.

“That’s the goal,” Jones told reporters on Sunday. “It’s just to work hard day-by-day to be out there.”

In total, the injury knocked Jones out of New England’s last 10 practices — including a pair of joint practices in Green Bay — and all three preseason games.

“It’s always tough when you’re not out there with your teammates, but it’s just part of football,” Jones said. “I was working hard to get back out there.”

Having Jones available Week 1 would be a huge boost for New England’s defense against the high-octane Philadelphia Eagles, especially as several other of their cornerbacks have question marks regarding their status.

While Jones returned to practice, rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez was missing during Sunday’s session after appearing to suffer a right ankle/leg injury last week. While the rookie was spotted warming up last Friday in Nashville, his absence from practice was notable. Additionally, Jack Jones’ status remain in flux due to ongoing legal issues.

“They’re growing. You can even see through the preseason, they’ve grown,” Jones said of Gonzalez and the Patriots’ younger corners. “They’ve put some games together and got a lot of good reps. We’ll try to go out to the season and still improve week by week as the season starts.”

Time will tell how the availability in the cornerback room shakes out for Week 1, but having Jones, who is now the longest tenured Patriots’ defensive player, at practice on Sunday was a positive step in the right direction.

“Just trying to get healthy, be as healthy as I can heading into the season,” Jones said. “I’m just taking it day by day, just trying to be out there with my teammates.”