Stephen Jones sees hope for Cowboys defense in its personnel

5:20 PM ET

IRVING, Texas — In a week, the Dallas Cowboys will land at Point Mugu, Calif., for the start of training camp.

They will arrive with an offense that should be among the best in the NFL. Tony Romo is healthy. Dez Bryant is healthy. They have a top offensive line and added running back Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick. They have one of the best tight ends in Jason Witten. They also have role players who can create problems for other teams, such as Cole Beasley, Terrance Williams and even Alfred Morris.

They will also arrive with a defense that is dogged by questions, mostly because of the suspensions of Rolando McClain (10 games), Randy Gregory (four games) and DeMarcus Lawrence (four games). They have not seen Orlando Scandrick play a game since the divisional round loss in the 2014 playoffs due to a serious knee injury. They didn’t see Sean Lee take part in any offseason work because of minor knee surgery. They saw 2016 third-round pick Maliek Collins take part in one organized team activity before he broke his foot, which required surgery. They will not see this year’s second-round pick, Jaylon Smith, play because of a serious knee injury.

Executive vice president Stephen Jones, center, thinks the Cowboys have a better defense now than in 2014, when Dallas went 12-4. Paul Moseley/Zuma Press/Icon Sportswire

They have not seen Brandon Carr intercept a pass since Thanksgiving of 2013. Morris Claiborne has just two in his last three seasons.

Despite the myriad of questions, Cowboys …

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