Arians: Ronald Jones Will Start for Buccaneers vs. Atlanta
Bruce Arians said on Monday that Ronald Jones II will start at running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Jones, a key figure in Tampa Bay's deep running back room, took four carries for 13 yards in the season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys this past Thursday. The fourth rushing attempt, however, ended in a fumble that the Cowboys recovered at the Buccaneers' 27-yard line. Dallas would score a game-tying touchdown five plays later, and Jones would not play another snap.
“Ro was running really, really well until the fumble,” Arians said on Friday, following a 31-29 victory. “Then he struggled mentally to get over it. That was too big of a game and not be totally focused. So Leonard [Fournette] got the rest of the way.”
Fournette would tally 32 yards across nine carries and added five receptions for 27 yards, although he bobbled one of his two other targets into an interception on Tampa Bay's first offensive play after Jones' benching. Fellow running back Giovani Bernard caught two passes for 12 yards on the night and did not receive a rushing attempt.
Although Arians called Jones the starting running back in week two, he and Fournette are expected to continue splitting the load as they did a year ago and are projected to this season. Bernard should see his role increase as well as the season goes on.
Jones finished the 2020 regular season as Tampa Bay's leading rusher, accumulating 978 yards and seven touchdowns across 192 carries.
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