Saturday, August 07, 1999
Sargent concedes starting job to Jones
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Bengals left tackle Kevin Sargent has seen the future, and his name is Rod Jones.
“My job's gone right now. (Jones) is the No. 1 guy. He's earned it,” Sargent said Friday. “There's no way I can go back there and say, "Give me my job back.' I'm going to have to play better than him (but) right now watch what he's doing. No one on our line is playing better. I don't have any illusions about it once I do get back out there.”
The quickest Sargent can get back on the field is Aug. 17, three days after Cincinnati's exhibition opener. He is scheduled for another exam Aug. 16.
But he did get good news Friday, a week since he had to leave the first practice of the season with neck spasms. After undergoing extensive tests Wednesday to check nerve structure and Friday to examine nerve function, Sargent was told his neck looks normal.
But they weren't a normal variety of tests. On Friday, six needles were stuck in one arm, five in another and six in his neck. Sargent still has off-and-on tingling in his hands but he has no intention of retiring after turning 30 March 31.
“If there's nothing structurally wrong and nothing wrong with the nerves,” he said. “I don't see any reason why I can't go back out there.”
Sargent missed 25 games in the 1996 and 1997 seasons with a herniated neck disk.
“It tingles in each hand for maybe 10 minutes and then goes away,” he said. “I don't know what to make of it. I worry it's going to be with me the rest of my life, but I just hope (the tingling) doesn't get worse. (The doctors) think the symptoms will diminish, and I'll be OK.”
Actually, Sargent is just as worried about his paycheck. He counts $3.2 million against the salary cap and is scheduled to make $2.2 million this year and figures he'll be cut rather than kept on the bench to back up Jones.
If Jones can't play, the Bengals can move right tackle Willie Anderson to left tackle and right guard Brian DeMarco to right tackle, but they still like the idea of having a healthy Sargent available for depth.
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