Cowboys RB Ronald Jones gets 2-game suspension for violation on performance-enhancers.
Cowboys RB Ronald Jones says suspension is due to heart medication Cowboys RB Ronald Jones says suspension is due to heart medication 01:26 OXNARD, California (AP) – Dallas Cowboys running back Ronald Jones on Monday was suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers. Jones is eligible to participate in practices at training camp and in preseason games. Jones was on the field Monday as the Cowboys started their second week of camp. Jones, who turns 26 Thursday, signed with Dallas as a free agent in the offseason. He was a second-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2018 and spent four seasons with the Buccaneers. He had career highs of 978 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020. Jones will be eligible to play Sept. 24 at Arizona.
- 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.
Mike Garafolo @MikeGarafolo
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cowboys?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Cowboys</a> RB Ronald Jones suspended two games for violating the PED policy. <a href=”https://t.co/jfCKw68Gdp”>pic.twitter.com/jfCKw68Gdp</a>
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.
Charean Williams @NFLCharean
Ronald Jones wasn’t the answer as the backup running back even before his two-game suspension for PEDs. The Cowboys needed a veteran backup running back before today. They need one even more now.
Michael Gehlken @GehlkenNFL
No mention of RB Ronald Jones this morning for a reason. He is not an option for the Cowboys to begin season. <a href=”https://t.co/wJCQUaafF8″>https://t.co/wJCQUaafF8</a>
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.
