Washington Football Team: 3 dream RB acquisitions if Antonio Gibson’s shin injury worsens

2. Ronald Jones

Ronald Jones’ fall from grace — for lack of a better term — in Tampa Bay has been difficult to watch unfold. He managed to fend Leonard Fournette, a late addition late offseason, and went on to enjoy the best season of his career, taking 192 carries for 978 yards (5.1 YPC) and seven touchdowns.

However, Fournette stole the show once the playoffs rolled around and his emergence has carried over into the 2021 campaign. Fournette has made the starting job his own, logging 332 yards and three touchdowns on 4.3 YPC, to go with 25 catches for 213 yards in the passing game.

For comparison’s sake, Jones has notched just 31 carries and has played 19% of the offensive snaps for the season. Suffice it to say he didn’t expect to be a change-of-pace back coming off a career year, so you have to think he’d welcome a trade out of Tampa if the opportunity presented itself.

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has vehemently dismissed such an idea, but there’s no way to know if that was a PR stunt or a legitimate vote of confidence in Jones. Assuming it’s the former, Washington should at least be preemptive and get GM Jason Licht on the phone and inquire about Jones’ market.

As far as plug-and-play options go, Jones might be the hottest name on the market. Plus, he’s on an expiring contract. However, he wasn’t able to top the No. 1 RB on this list.