Dallas Cowboys running back Ronald Jones II has been suspended for the first two games of the 2023 season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy.
Jones, 25, is attempting to make the Cowboys as a backup option for Tony Pollard, alongside players like Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn, though the team may ultimately seek veteran help.
Jones was a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2018 NFL draft and had a solid sophomore campaign in 2019 (724 rushing yards, six scores) and third season in 2020 (978 rushing yards, seven scores).
But he ultimately fell below Leonard Fournette in the pecking order and hit free agency ahead of the 2022 season, signing a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was an ill-fated marriage, with Jones only appearing in six games and rushing for just 70 yards and a score as rookie seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco instead emerged as the feature back.
He signed with the Cowboys on a one-year deal this offseason after the team released long-time starter Ezekiel Elliott, clearing room for Pollard to operate as the starter.
Elliott remains a free agent, though a reunion feels pretty unlikely. And cutting him was in part a decision to spend less resources on the running back position while giving Pollard a bigger role, so making a splashy signing like bringing in four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook isn’t going to happen.
There are plenty of prominent free agents at the position available, however, with Fournette and Kareem Hunt joining Cook and Elliott as the headliners. Other potential (and cheaper) options could include J.D. McKissic and Kenyan Drake.
Or the Cowboys will simply stick with the group they have, as they’ve done throughout the offseason despite persistent rumors and suggestions that they should bolster the position with a veteran free agent.
