Running back Ronald Jones hasn’t had the sort of preseason that was expected from him when he joined the Kansas City Chiefs.
When the Kansas City Chiefs signed free agent running back Ronald Jones back in March, the projections thrust upon him were a little over the top. Right away, many fans and analysts believed that the Chiefs had found a significant contributor in the backfield, and some wondered whether Jones might even supplant Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the team’s featured back.
What is interesting with all of the early hype is that no one at the time seemed to pay much attention to the actual contract given out by the Chiefs. That alone would have helped limit the buzz around RoJo, if only people realized that the Chiefs signed him for next to nothing for a single season. No one who signs the kind of deal given to Jones this offseason is guaranteed anything in the National Football League. Still, that didn’t stop the spread of excitement.
Fast forward to the Chiefs’ first preseason game against the Chicago Bears and it’s clear that Jones is not having the sort of summer that he thought he would.
Earlier this week, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports wondered if Ronald Jones would be on the “outside looking in” when active rosters were due.
On Saturday, Jones had 4 rushes for 1 yard for the Chiefs in limited action as one of several backs rotating on offense. It’s hard for anyone to get a fair and proper read from that amount of reps, and it should also be noted that a thin Bears’ defensive interior was getting way too much push on the Chiefs’ blockers. However, it’s just the latest example of Jones’ declining stock on the Chiefs.
Instead of pushing Edwards-Helaire, it has felt like Jones was the one being pushed by the likes of returning free agent Jerick McKinnon, seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco, and perhaps even holdover RFA Derrick Gore. While there’s limited time left in the preseason, there’s still time for Jones to turn around his fortunes with K.C. The Chiefs still have two scheduled preseason games and plenty more practice sessions.
Jones put up nearly 1K yards for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2020, but last year, he was passed over on the depth chart by Leonard Fournette and put up a pretty sad body of work behind him in 2021. He had 101 carries for 428 yards a year ago for Tampa Bay.
The Chefs will make their first five roster cuts by Wednesday, August 16, when every team has to be down to 85 players on the roster.