With the NFL trade deadline looming, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones has found himself in the middle of many trade rumors. However, while the thought may be enticing to some, the Buccaneers would be smart to hold onto him.
It’s no secret that the Bucs don’t have many holes when it comes to the make up of their roster. The ones they do have, are the product of a series of unfortunate events on the Lemony Snicket tip. The secondary is the one unit in particular that’s been bitten the hardest by the injury bug.
This being the case, naturally many want the Buccaneers to make a move at the trade deadline for a veteran cornerback to fill the void. The one player that’s come up the most is RoJo.
It’s pretty easy to understand why. Running back is by far and away the most expendable position in not only football, but probably all of sports in general. That, coupled with the fact that the Buccaneers have a deep running back room, with Jones being particularly underwhelming this season, it makes for almost the perfect storm.
While that is a strong case, the Buccaneers situation isn’t as black and white. The main thing to remember is, the Bucs are in as “win now” mode as a team can possibly be. Yes, Tom Brady looks and seems like he can play, and live, forever, but that doesn’t mean he will and championship l window will stay open forever, especially with the plethora of other veterans on the roster.
With that said, the let’s be honest, likely return of a late round draft pick wouldn’t do a team in the Buccaneers’ situation much good. While Jones is set to be a free agent, the return really might not be worth it at the end of the day.
Now, with the Buccaneers Super Bowl odds really take a significant dip if RoJo were to leave the team? Not at all. However, if something were to happen to Leonard Fournette, who is slowly becoming more of a bell cow back, would you feel more comfortable having Jones take over the lead back role, or a combination of Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Giovani Bernard? While this writer may be a fan of the latter two, the answer is pretty obvious.
At the end of the day, you never know with the NFL. It stands for “not for long“ for a reason. While Bruce Arians came out and said that there are no plans to move Jones, that can always change. However, the wise thing for the Buccaneers to do would be to hold on to RoJo for the rest of the 2021 season.