The Dallas Cowboys have released running back Ronald Jones just hours after he became eligible to return to the Cowboys' 53-man roster. Jones, who previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs, was serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug (PED) policy. He was set to be starting running back Tony Pollard's backup.
Head coach Mike McCarthy had said earlier that the Cowboys front office “haven't discussed the direction [they are] going in” yet, but that has clearly changed. It seems that the move was inevitable, considering the Cowboys' current roster and the nonsensicality of exposing a young back to waivers unnecessarily.
Though Jones was brought on in the offseason for depth reasons alone, that need was quickly erased with the emergence of rookie Deuce Vaughn as an adequate candidate to fill that role.
With Tony Pollard as the clear lead back in Dallas, as well as the inclusion of undrafted rookie fullback Hunter Luepke on the 53-man, Jones became expendable. Positioned between those two backs on the depth chart are Rico Dowdle and Vaughn, bringing the Cowboys' total running back count on the active roster up to four.
After his 2022 season with Kansas City, Jones joined the Cowboys as a free agent. He was initially drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft and has accumulated 2,244 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns over five seasons in the NFL. Despite his suspension, he has been practicing and conditioning all off-season.
Considering the high volume of injuries facing running backs early this season, don't be shocked to see Jones making his way onto a roster sometime in the near future.
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