If Ronald Jones is going to make the Dallas Cowboys’ roster, he’s going to have to be even more impressive in training camp. On Monday it was announced that Jones, signed in the offseason to compete for a rotational spot in the backfield, will miss the first two games of the regular season after violating the NFL’s policy of PEDs.
The suspension length means it’s Jones’ first offense. With recent changes to the NFL’s policy in the most recent CBA, the league doesn’t have to announce the parameters with the penalty, it’s understood by the length. Stimulants and masking agents get two-game suspensions while first-time suspensions for anabolics was increased to six games for a first offense. A tampered test results in an eight-game ban.
The NFL has suspended Cowboys RB Ronald Jones for the first two games of the 2023 regular season for violating the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) July 31, 2023
Jones, who will be 26 next week, enters his sixth year in the league. A former second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones won a championship ring with the Kansas City Chiefs last season despite seeing little action. He carried the ball just 18 times, only once in the postseason, for 70 total ground yards.
His best season was in 2020 when he had a league-high 98-yard touchdown as part of a 5.1 yards-per-carry average. He toted the rock 198 times that year, a career high. Now, he’s battling for a place behind Tony Pollard alongside several young prospects. Just Monday head coach Mike McCarthy singled out a couple of Jones’ competitors without mentioning the veteran.
Who has caught Mike McCarthy’s eye behind Cowboys RB Tony Pollard? “I tell you, I’m loving Rico (Dowdle), and it’s great to have him back. Malik (Davis) has taken that jump that you’re looking for. Those guys really jump out. Obviously, we’ve got to get Deuce (Vaughn) involved.”
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) July 31, 2023