Tag: Ronald Jones

Colts worked out free-agent RB Ronald Jones

The Colts worked out Ronald Jones on Tuesday.

The Indianapolis Colts worked out free-agent running back Ronald Jones, according to the league’s transaction wire Tuesday.

Though the Colts are hoping to see the return of Jonathan Taylor soon—he’s eligible to return from the PUP list next week—they continue to keep an eye on the market.

Jones, the former second-round pick in 2018, spent the offseason with the Dallas Cowboys. He was suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the league’s PED policy. The Cowboys released him after his suspension was lifted in Week 3.

Jones has struggled to make good on his second-round draft capital since entering the league. He’s never recorded over 1,000 rushing yards, though he did come close in 2020 when he recorded 192 carries for 978 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns in 14 games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Colts have been rolling with Zack Moss as the unquestioned leader in the backfield while the aforementioned Taylor sits on the PUP list. They also signed Trey Sermon to the practice squad and then promoted him to the active roster in Week 3.

Whether Taylor will return immediately once he’s eligible in Week 5 remains to be seen, but it’s not keeping the Colts from monitoring the market.

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Ravens to work out several running backs ahead of Week 3 matchup vs. Colts

The Baltimore #Ravens are reportedly set to host Kenyan Drake, Ronald Jones and James Robinson for free agent workouts ahead of Week 3 via @Thacover2NFL

The Ravens are banged up at the running back position and with J.K. Dobbins and Keaton Mitchell both out with injuries, Jeff Zrebiec is reporting that the team will host several free agents for workouts.

Veterans Kenyan Drake, Ronald Jones and James Robinson are in Baltimore for a group workout.

Cowboys cut RB Ronald Jones after serving 2-game suspension

From @ToddBrock24f7: Jones is a 2x-Super Bowl winner who was expected to be a veteran presence behind Tony Pollard and help the team’s younger RBs.

Running back Ronald Jones has been cut by the Cowboys before even taking a regular-season snap.

Jones, the former second-round draft pick who won Super Bowl rings with both the Chiefs and the Buccaneers, is coming off a two-game suspension to start his 2023 season.

The 26-year-old, a native of McKinney, Tex., was signed by the Cowboys in March just days after the release of Ezekiel Elliott. He was expected to be a veteran presence in the Dallas RB room behind Tony Pollard, helping lead a stable of young backup ball carriers.

But Jones found himself in trouble for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. The positive results, for a test taken last season, were for a “heart stimulant” prescribed to Jones by a doctor, said the USC product, who fervently denied “cheating the game.”

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Jones was handed a two-game punishment to be served in the regular season, then suffered a groin injury in camp.

Those two games gave the Cowboys time to see what they have in Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Hunter Luepke. Even wide receiver KaVontae Turpin seems to be in the mix for some backfield carries, as seen in Week 1’s win over the Giants.

Apparently the Cowboys coaches saw enough to warrant releasing Jones rather than returning him to the active roster on Monday and cutting someone else to make room.

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Six points with David Dorey

Friday’s quick look at six fantasy items to know

The 2023 season is underway, and Week 1 is the most exciting week of the year for three reasons:

  1. The true nature of injuries finally have to be disclosed.
  2. There will be many player surprises that sends everyone scrambling to their league waiver wire. Who was to know that Player X would blow up like that? This is “go figure” week.
  3. Expectations are reset based on Week 1, which is often wrong because Week 1 is different than the rest and not a great barometer of anything.

So we’ll see some exciting things, score many fantasy points, and then need a reminder not to buy into anything too much. Consider Week 1 of 2022 – here are the players that scored two touchdowns to reward fantasy owners – Kareem Hunt, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Dontrell Hilliard, O.J. Howard, Michael Thomas, Devin Duvernay, and Robbie Chosen Anderson. The third-best quarterback was Carson Wentz, with four touchdowns and 313 yards.

Still, we get to see rookies, veterans who changed teams, new offensive schemes, and a ton of big and small changes that will uniquely mark this season.

This weekly article will look at six players/situations worth tracking because fantasy opportunities happen weekly. For the opener, I am very interested in several backfields.

  1. J.K. Dobbins (BAL) – Adding new OC Todd Monken should prove a great move, and it will change the offense. The backfield has long been a committee, and that may change. The Ravens ranked No. 29 in passes thrown to running backs, and that is going to change. Throw in one of the best O-lines in the NFL, and this offense will change and benefit Dobbins in the process. Only Kenyan Drake carried more than 17 times in any game last year. The backfield breakdown should be noted since it will spell just what changes to expect from the new offense. 
  2. Tony Pollard (DAL) – No arguing that Pollard was more effective than Ezekiel Elliott (and at a much lower price). Now that he steps into the primary role, what happens? Pollard has never rushed more than 193 times in a season in the NFL and never more than 78 times in college. Dallas wants a more conservative offense and ran an NFL-high 506 times last year. Who else runs the ball? Rico Dowdle, a 25-year-old with seven career carries? The Diminutive Deuce Vaughn? Ronald Jones is on suspension for two games and made the team but he hasn’t been a factor anywhere for a couple of years. How heavy of a load will Pollard be given? There are a lot of fantasy points in this backfield, somewhere, and it’ll be worth tracking in case Pollard cannot handle more than 200 carries for the first time ever. He was a receiver in high school and a “WR/RB” in college.
  3. Rachaad White (TB) – Leonard Fournette is gone, apparently from everyone’s whiteboard, and White takes the RB1 job. This new offense wants to run more and better. The Bucs ranked No. 2 in completions to running backs (133), but that is likely to drop with OC Dave Canales coming from Seattle, where they only ranked No. 25 (69). Sean Tucker is getting hype, yet the team has thrown their confidence behind White. The O-line is no advantage, but they want to run more often. Chase Edmonds will likely take most of the passes, so any sharing between White and Tucker diminishes what either could do alone. If White gets a primary load like Fournette’s 262 touches last year, he’ll surprise. But will he last?
  4. Khalil Herbert (CHI) – David Montgomery left, and the Bears added D’Onta Foreman who was fresh from his only season of note. The Bears also drafted Roschon Johnson with their fourth-round pick. This offense threw the least passes to their backfield (61), so the rushing will contribute most of their fantasy value. The Bears have a better O-line, but three players may be involved. We want to see Herbert succeed and earn a big chunk of carries, or this may be a marginal producer for fantasy points. 
  5. Alexander Mattison (MIN) – Yet another fifth-year back that never ran more than 134 times in a season and yet is promoted to RB1 with the departure of Dalvin Cook. Curious too that he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry over the last two seasons. The fourth-round pick Ty Chandler has to be involved, but he hasn’t impressed. If this unit doesn’t run well – and nothing says that it will – they may be turning to a free agent or even a trade at some point.
  6. Raheem Mostert (MIA) – The Dolphins didn’t bite on Jonathan Taylor, but they looked, and that door may not be completely closed. The fantasy world wants to see Devon Achane become a factor, and the 5-9, 188-pounder is a blazer with 4.32 40-time speed. So many questions are here – can Mostert possibly stay healthy for two straight seasons? Can Achane earn enough playing time that the Fins don’t start knocking on free-agent doors? It is an offense with some firepower and plenty of fantasy points.

And about last night…

Lions 21, Chiefs 20

Well, this included about half of the scoring we wanted to see. The Lions didn’t do anything special other than lose one fumble that ended a scoring drive. The take away is that David Montgomery (21-74, TD) is the new Jamaal Williams while Jahmyr Gibbs was a disappointment with just six runs for 42 yards (6.0 YPC) and two catches for 18 yards.  Seems like a lot of untapped potential with just eight touches. Amon-Ra St. Brown (6-71, TD) and Josh Reynolds (4-80) led the team but Sam LaPorta (5-39) was surprisingly involved (and effective) for a rookie tight end debut.  Jared Goff only threw for one score and 253 yards.

Life without Travis Kelce does not look pretty. At least for this week. Patrick Mahomes threw for 226 yards and two scores, including a pick-six that made a huge difference in the game. He threw to 12 receivers and the rookie Rashee Rice (3-29, TD) was impressive in his debut. But Sky Moore failed to catch any of his three passes and Kadarius Toney (1-1) had three drops, one of which could have produced a first down and final field goal attempt.

But, this was the first surprise with far less offense than expected. More happen on Sunday and in the end – it may not matter. Week 1 is a different beast than the rest.

Already facing suspension, Cowboys RB Ronald Jones to ‘miss some time’ with groin injury

From @ToddBrock24f7: Jones exited Saturday’s practice early and did not participate Monday; Mike McCarthy wouldn’t speculate on his availability moving forward.

Cementing a spot on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster is proving to be quite a challenge for running back Ronald Jones.

First came the news of a two-game suspension to start the 2023 regular season. Then the just-turned-26-year-old embarking on his sixth NFL season was dealt another setback over the weekend, exiting Saturday’s Blue-White practice early with what has been classified as a groin injury.

Head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Monday that the former McKinney North star “is going to miss some time” and would not practice to start the week. The plan, according to McCarthy, is to “see how he moves around to get a better idea of exactly where’s he’s at” as camp progresses.

Jones had been hoping to make every practice rep count, needing to prove his worth early to a team that knows it will be without him for Weeks 1 and 2. Jones was suspended for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy; the former USC Trojan says a doctor-issued prescription for a “heart stimulant” led to a positive test and maintained he was not “cheating the game” with steroid use.

League rules allowed Jones to continue practicing with the team and even play in the upcoming preseason as he looks to stand out within a talented but young running backs room that includes Malik Davis, Rico Dowdle, rookie draft pick Deuce Vaughn, and undrafted free agent Hunter Luepke behind starter Tony Pollard.

The Cowboys’ rushing attack is already undergoing a transformation in this first season without Ezekiel Elliott. Pollard has been electric with his touches over four pro seasons, enough to warrant the front office placing the franchise tag on him in order to keep him. But whether there will be any lingering after-effects of the high ankle sprain and fractured fibula he suffered in January’s playoff loss to the 49ers still remains to be seen.

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Jones was brought in to be a veteran presence within the position group, but now his availability through mid-September has changed twice inside of a week, and it can’t be guaranteed that he’ll even make the final roster.

While owner Jerry Jones has long teased the possibility of re-signing Elliott, McCarthy continues to make that option sound far-fetched. After the league announced its suspension of the onetime Buccaneer in his first year in Dallas, McCarthy said the overall plan at running back had not changed.

“We’re not just going to hit a bump and give up on the path,” he said per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “We want to see these young guys. We want to see them play in games.”

But for the time being, he won’t even see Ronald Jones on the practice field.

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Cowboys RB Ronald Jones addresses suspension: ‘I’m not cheating the game’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Ronald Jones says a prescription heart medication, not a performance-enhancing steroid, resulted in a positive test. He’ll miss Weeks 1 & 2.

Running back Ronald Jones hasn’t even made his Cowboys debut, but he already has some ground to make up with his teammates, coaches, and fans.

The 2018 second-round draft pick learned on Monday that he has been suspended for the first two games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. On Tuesday, the 25-year-old offered an explanation to those who automatically assumed the worst.

“I just want to clear my name,” said Jones, per the team website. “Everybody wants to say I’m on steroids and, clearly, I’m not. I’m one of the skinniest dudes on the team and in the league.”

What Jones tested positive for, he explained, is an unspecified “heart stimulant” that was previously prescribed by a doctor.

“It’s something I’ve been prescribed over the course of my career,” said the former USC Trojan. “It wasn’t any steroid or anything to enhance my game.”

Jones told reporters at Cowboys training camp in Oxnard that the positive test occurred last season, while he was still with the Chiefs.

Head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed that the team knew about the issue prior to signing Jones in March.

“We obviously were aware of the situation,” McCarthy stated in a Tuesday press conference. “We support him, and we’ll work through this.”

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Jones stressed that the medication was not taken as a performance enhancer.

“I’m not cheating the game of football,” he said. “It’s literally a prescription medicine. I asked for a retest, [including] a sample of my blood. They didn’t want to look at it. I think there needs to be more protection for players because if you’re having health issues, I mean, we’re human beings outside of football. We have real-life issues, too. My family suffers from heart disease and things like that.”

But, he added, “I’m responsible for what I put in my body.”

Part of a crowded running backs room with five men looking to serve as Tony Pollard’s primary backup, Jones- who played his high school ball at McKinney North- had hoped for a fresh start in his Dallas homecoming. After a career-best 978 rushing yards in Tampa Bay in 2020, Jones fell out of favor with the Buccaneers the following year, losing opportunities to Leonard Fournette. He spent 2022 in Kansas City but logged just 17 carries over six games all season.

Now his comeback bid as a Cowboy will see a delayed start. Jones is eligible to continue practicing with the team and can even play in the preseason, but he will have to miss Week 1’s visit to the Giants and a home date with the Jets in Week 2.

“I’m still gonna be out here working, through preseason and training camp. Just put my best foot forward and try to move on from this,” he said.

“You just got to block out the noise.”

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Cowboys RB suspended for performance-enhancing substances policy

Ronald Jones already had an uphill climb to make the Cowboys’ roster.

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.

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.

 

Former USC RB Ronald Jones II provides a great fit for Dallas Cowboys

Ronald Jones attended high school just 10 miles from Dallas. Being a Cowboy is a homecoming for the former USC star.

The Dallas Cowboys have found the perfect complementary back to Tony Pollard and Malik Davis in former USC Trojan Ronald Jones II. Jones signed a one-year contract with the Cowboys as a free agent.

Jones, who shares some similarities with Pollard in terms of rushing style, was the 38th pick in the 2018 NFL draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jones. He had an impressive junior season at USC, racking up 1,550 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns, and 5.9 yards per attempt with no fumbles, forcing 58 missed tackles.

After a rookie 2018 season in which he saw limited action as a backup, Jones took over the Buccaneers’ starting running back position midway through the 2019 campaign, finishing the season with nine starts and leading the team with 724 yards rushing.

In 2020, Jones collected 1,117 rushing yards, 4.9 yards per carry, and seven touchdowns when sharing the backfield with Leonard Fournette. He was part of a Super Bowl champion with Tom Brady and the rest of the Bucs.

In 2021, he relinquished his primary starting role to Fournette. While he appeared in 16 regular-season games, his production was limited. A late-season injury kept him from participating in the 2021 playoffs.

He spent four years with the Bucs before joining the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent last March. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl in 2022.

Jones gives the Cowboys the ability to truly push the competition on the depth chart behind Pollard. In the worst-case scenario, Dallas still gets a proven veteran who has a lot of tread left on his tires with the ability to be the Robin to Pollard’s Batman in 2023.

“They’ve got a great offense and great offensive coaches,” said Jones. “I love the way they scheme the run and feature the backs, and I’m gonna be a part of that.”

That’s the mission, and Jones was clear about the skills he brings to the table to help the Cowboys.

This will be a homecoming for the veteran running back. Jones attended high school in McKinney, Texas, just 10 miles away from Dallas.

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Cowboys sign Ronald Jones, add RB depth ahead of draft

The Cowboys strengthened the running back position by signing the veteran to a one-year deal. | From @BenGrimaldi

Things are heating up for the Dallas Cowboys during the second week of free agency. Dallas’ latest signing is inking veteran running back Ronald Jones to a one-year deal, following his Monday workout.

Jones went to high school at McKinney North and went on to play his college football at USC. The veteran RB was drafted in the second round in 2018 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl in 2020 with the Bucs. Jones’ best season came in the same year when he ran for 978 yards and seven scores while sharing the backfield with Leonard Fournette.

Last year Jones played in six games for the Kansas City Chiefs, scoring one touchdown and winning his second Super Bowl. For his career, Jones has averaged 4.4 yards a carry and rushed for 19 touchdowns.

Jones will compete for a backup RB role this summer with Malik Davis and the recently re-signed Rico Dowdle. Jones will be 26-years old when the season begins and has the most experience to spell Pollard if needed.

The Cowboys’ backfield just got a little more crowded.

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Cowboys to sign Chiefs free agent RB Ronald Jones

The #Cowboys have agreed to terms with former #Chiefs RB Ronald Jones per report.

After a successful visit with the Dallas Cowboys at The Star on Monday, Kansas City Chiefs free agent RB Ronald Jones has found a new home. According to ESPN NFL Nationa Reporter Todd Archer, the Cowboys have struck a deal with Jones in free agency.

A two-time Super Bowl champion, once with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV and again with the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, Jones comes to Dallas after serving as the No. 4 running back in Kansas City this past season. He appeared in just six games for the Chiefs in 2022, with just 17 attempts for 70 yards and one touchdown.

The 25-year-old has fresh legs after that limited role in Kansas City. In each of the three seasons prior with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones had 100 or more touches.

This is also a bit of a homecoming for Jones. While he played collegiately at USC in California, Jones played high school football in McKinney, Texas at McKinney North where he earned the nickname “The Texas Tesla” for his penchant for electric plays.

It’s unclear how long this deal is for and whether the contract will initially qualify him as a compensable free agent, but Chiefs fans should hope for Jones to stick in Dallas. If he plays a lot of snaps, he could eventually qualify the team for a compensatory draft pick in 2024.

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