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By Dale Grdnic
PITTSBURGH -- For those wondering how well Jarvis Jones is progressing, one just had to see him standing on the Pittsburgh Steelers sideline Sunday waving a Terrible Towel and cheering for his teammates.
"It's a good thing I'm left-handed,'' Jones said Wednesday. "So, I didn't have any problem waving the Towel.''
Jones, the Steelers' No. 1 pick in 2013, suffered a right wrist injury during the club's blowout win Sept. 21 at Carolina. He had surgery to repair the damage and was placed on injured reserve-designated for return. If the Steelers reactivate him, Jones is eligible to return against New Orleans Sunday, Nov. 30, at Heinz Field.
"I'm doing all right, as well as can be expected,'' Jones said. "The injury rate in the NFL is 100 percent, so (stuff) happens. You can't dwell on that or be angry. I guess you can, but it won't help anything. I just have to work hard to be ready when I'm allowed to come back.''
In three starts at right outside linebacker and basically two-and-a-half games, Jones tallied 13 total tackles, including 11 solo, two sacks, a quarterback pressure and a forced fumble. After an inconsistent rookie year when he started eight of 14 games, recorded just one sack, no takeaways and appeared to be lost more often than not, Jones was starting to make plays for the Steelers.
"I think things were going pretty well, but I'm trying not to dwell on that,'' Jones said. "I just want to get healthy and get back on the field.''
Jones has been replaced in the starting lineup by fifth-year pro Arthur Moats, but veteran James Harrison was coaxed out of retirement to share time at his old outside linebacker spot as well.