This is a theory I thought of when I saw the new opening for Season 2; which is used for the episode "Sworn to the Sword" and episodes onwards, which seems to depict Connie holding Rose Quartz's sword in her hand and then imbedding it in the sand near her on the beach while she's sitting with Greg and Lion near the end of the intro? And remember in the episode "Sworn to the Sword" where Connie is training with Pearl in sword fighting?

This leads me to believe that she will actually use the sword in the future once she learns to master her sword fighting skills from Pearl and that the sword will be the equivalent to Steven's shield; but only she won't need to summon the sword like any other Gem Weapon.