Cowboys have an obvious decision to make following Ronald Jones' suspension
Dallas Cowboys running back Ronald Jones might've sealed his faith entering the 2023 NFL season following the league's announcement that he'd be suspended for two games. The league is suspending the veteran running back for violating the Performance-Enhancing Substances policy. This would position Jones for a best-case scenario return to the roster on Monday, September […]
Dallas Cowboys running back Ronald Jones might've sealed his faith entering the 2023 NFL season following the league's announcement that he'd be suspended for two games.
The league is suspending the veteran running back for violating the Performance-Enhancing Substances policy. This would position Jones for a best-case scenario return to the roster on Monday, September 18th, en route to Week 3 of the regular season.
However, the news might be bad news for a running back that already faced an uphill battle entering training camp. The suspension probably leaves the Cowboys with an easy decision to make before cutdown day: Part ways with Jones.
Although RoJo has the experience to be considered an automatic candidate for a spot on the roster, one has to consider there's been a slight decline in his numbers over the last few years. After Jones' Super Bowl season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he's rushed for 498 yards in 22 games. Last year, he totaled 70 yards in six games with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jones, who will turn 26 years old on Thursday, needs to beat out Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis, two younger backs who are earning praise from head coach Mike McCarthy. Both were around for last season, too.
Not to mention, they already held the special teams advantage over Jones, who's barely played special teams in his career. The last time that he did log even one special teams snap was in 2019 and that was just six, per Pro Football Reference.
"That's really what it's going to come down to, the importance of their role not only just on offense but on special teams," McCarthy told reporters last week.
After Dowdle and Davis, you get to sixth-round draft pick Deuce Vaughn. Considering the front office rarely quits on rookies they used a draft pick on, it's hard to rule him out. And that's even without factoring in the fact that he brings very different play-making tools to the table. Hunter Luepke is in a similar position as the only fullback-type player in the room.
Now, Jones isn't even an option for the first two regular season games, which can't help his case. In a way, the news makes the team's decision down the road somewhat obvious. Do the Cowboys wait until the end of camp to make it official? Perhaps, that could even be smart just in case of injury. But the way I see it, Jones just made one of the staff's cuts much easier following his suspension.
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Featured image via Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
