Matt Jones’ agent asks Washington Redskins to release him
Though Matt Jones reported to the Washington Redskins yesterday, he is still looking to move on from the team.
The saga of Matt Jones has continued for longer than many have thought it would. It has been rumored all offseason that the Washington Redskins are going to move on from Jones. He was benched midway through last season as a result of fumbling problems. Rob Kelley took over the starting role and never looked back. Chris Thompson filled in as a change of pace back while Mack Brown flashed potential. With the addition of Samaje Perine, there just does not appear to be a place for Jones.
Because of this, Jones’ agent has been continuing to search for a release. According to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, Jones’ agent, Hadley Engelhard, said the following of the situation.
"Engelhard told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Jones’ camp “asked very politely” for him to be released because “he has no future there.” Jones skipped recent voluntary offseason workouts and showed up for mandatory minicamp this week."
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This is hardly a surprise. The Redskins made a concerted effort to trade Jones during the 2017 NFL Draft. They essentially have guaranteed that he will not be back with the team in the future, and have moved him down the depth chart accordingly. It makes little sense as to why they would release him.
Of course, some may point to the fact that Jones did report to minicamp recently as a sign that he may not be giving up on the team. However, that is far from the case. Jones channeled his inner Marshawn Lynch, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, claiming that he is just at minicamp so he won’t get fined.
At the end of the day, this appears to be heading rapidly for a mutual split. The Redskins don’t need Jones. Jones doesn’t want to be on the Redskins. It seems unlikely that any team is going to trade for him. Jones is better off getting a release and trying to rehabilitate his career elsewhere.
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Jones has the ability to become at least a solid rotational back, so some team will take a chance on him. Teams just do not want to sacrifice draft resources to acquire a fumble prone back.