Bruce Arians says Ronald Jones will be ‘starting this week’ after Week 1 fumble

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers return to action this Sunday and running back Ronald Jones is on track to get another shot at his old starting role. Five days after he was effectively benched for a fumble in the Week 1 opener, Jones is “starting this week and he’ll be ready to roll,” according to head coach Bruce Arians.

Jones fumbled the ball at the 6:36 mark of the second quarter last Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys. He never touched the ball again in the game, finishing with four rushes for 14 yards. Leonard Fournette was the team’s lead back, rushing nine times for 32 yards and adding five receptions for 27 yards. Giovani Bernard added two receptions for 12 yards on three targets.

Jones and Fournette were generally drafted near each other in fantasy football drafts this past offseason. Jones’ ADP was 76 in standard leagues and 88 in PPR leagues. Fournette’s ADP was 79 in standard leagues and 82 in PPR leagues. It was tough to tell who would get what work, but that was cleared up in a hurry in Week 1.

If you have Jones, you should not release him to waivers at this point. Elijah Mitchell or Mark Ingram might grab your attention, but find someone else to waive for them. The Bucs RB situation is not a great one, but Jones is going to get more opportunities and will help fantasy teams win. Mitchell in particular is an intriguing waiver option, but you likely have someone worse than Jones you can unload.