The Dallas Cowboys were eyeing to form a veteran corps of rushing attack following the departure of Ezekiel Elliott. They signed the former four-star recruit Ronald Jones in March, albeit the initial journey with the running back turned bitter as he is suspended by the NFL without pay with the allegation of violating the league’s PED policy.
After being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a second-round pick in 2018, Ronald spent four seasons with the franchise and earned one Super Bowl with them during the 2020 season. The 25-year-old star later joined the Kansas City Chiefs and was a part of Patrick Mahomes’ Super Bowl win last season.
What is PEDs in the NFL? Explained
The NFL’s PED or the Performance Enhancing Drug policy forbids players from using “anabolic/androgenic steroids, exogenous testosterone stimulants, natural or synthetic human or animal growth hormones” as they believe the enhancement substances might hinder the fairness and integrity of the game. It also prohibits coaches, trainers, and agents from supplying or encouraging players to use the aforementioned substances.
The NFL Management Council and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) jointly handle the process. A PED test comes in the form of random or scheduled urine samples which continue throughout a week during the preseason and regular season. The first violation of the policy can result in a four to six-game suspension without pay while the second violation would equal a 10-game suspension and the third violation might cost a one-season suspension or more.
Why does Cowboys RB Ronald Jones receive a 2 games suspension?
Jones was suspended on Monday for the first two games of the season due to the PED allegations, albeit he is eligible to participate in practices at training camp as well as in preseason games. He was on the field that day as the Dallas-based team kicked off their second week of camp.
The sixth-year veteran is set to miss games against the New York Giants on September 10 and the New York Jets on September 17. He would be eligible to play the game against the Arizona Cardinals on September 24.
The North Texas high school alumni said the Cowboys are going to have a thorough investigation over the incident and assured of being more cautious in the future to avoid such allegations, per Jasri Football.
“𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: #Cowboys RB Ronald Jones, who was suspended for 2 games for PEDs, says he ‘loves this game and would never cheat it.’ He says he would never knowingly take a banned substance and that his team is going to investigate how it happened.”
https://twitter.com/jasrifootball/status/1686183894951858176
The 25-year-old had run 17 times for 70 yards along with a touchdown throughout six games in Kansas City last season as well as run 488 times for 2,174 yards along with 18 touchdowns in four seasons in Tampa Bay. He broke out in 2020 to record a career-high of 978 yards and seven touchdowns.
Now with his suspension for the initial two games, the Cowboys have Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, and rookie Deuce Vaughn in their squad. It remains to be seen how the team’s future unfolds keeping these players at the helm while Jones stays out of the squad for a time being.
