Tampa Bay Buccaneers rumors: With Leonard Fournette falling out of favor and being a healthy inactive last week, the playoff contenders have been relying on leading rusher Ronald Jones to do the dirty work behind Tom Brady. Unfortunately, Jones is sidelined after suffering a fractured pinky finger. We now have some more news on Jones, and it’s not great.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers rumors: Team places Ronald Jones on COVID-19 list
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed running back Ronald Jones II on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Wednesday,” the Buccaneers reported, via their official website. “He is the fourth Buccaneer to get that designation this week as the team’s three specialists – punter Bradley Pinion, kicker Ryan Succop and long-snapper Zach Triner – were all placed on the list Tuesday.”
Jones’ status was already up in the air for Week 15’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. It’s obviously now in further question. There’s no word yet on whether the former USC star tested positive for COVID-19 or had a close contact.
The Buccaneers currently sit at 8-5 on the season and as the sixth seed in the NFC Playoff race, two games ahead of multiple teams for a postseason spot. Following their game against the Falcons on Sunday, the Bucs take on Detroit before closing up shop on the regular season with another game against Atlanta.
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Jones leads the way with 900 rushing yards at a clip of 5.0 yards per attempt through 13 games. He’s also added 28 receptions for 165 yards.
Fournette has struggled big time after the former 1,100-yard rusher was picked up in the offseason. He’s averaging a mere 3.9 yards pre rush and was a healthy inactive last week. With Jones likely out, the expectation is that Fournette will be active against Atlanta on Sunday. Expect former Pro Bowler LeSean McCoy to also see touches.
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