Washington Redskins Should Consider Playing Matt Jones For Game vs. Bears

The initial switch from Matt Jones to Rob Kelley at the running back position paid dividends for the Washington Redskins. Now, it is time to consider bringing back Jones.

Over the past month, the Washington Redskins have had some major issues running the ball. The team has sputtered to a 1-3 record in the past four games, and part of that is due to their lack of success running the ball. For Saturday, the team has to fix this, and reactivating Matt Jones could be the answer.

After serving as the Redskins primary running back for the first seven weeks of the season, Jones fell out of favor with the coaching staff due to some fumbling issues. He missed Week 8 with an injury, and has since been inactive for every game. It may be in the Redskins best interest to change that.

Undrafted rookie Rob Kelley has been terrific thus far in the 2016 campaign, but he has been having more issues with getting positive yardage in recent weeks. Against the Panthers, he only got 8 yards on nine carries. Over the past four games, Kelley has averaged a measly 3.2 yards per carry and has not been nearly as effective. Part of the problem is that the Redskins are relying too much on him without a quality backup.

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While Chris Thompson is an excellent third down/change of pace back, the coaching staff has showed a reluctance to use him in a more featured role. They have concerns that too many carries could cause the runner to get hurt. This makes sense considering that Thompson is only 5-foot-8. Still, that has prevented the team from giving anybody but Kelley carries. In the last month, Kelley has seen 53 carries to Thompson’s 11. That does not make for a successful split, especially since Kelley has proven that he is not yet ready to be a workhorse.

So, how can the team remedy this situation? Activate Jones. While he has had fumbling issues, Jones could take 5 to 10 carries a game away from Kelley to lighten the load for the rookie. A timeshare would likely work better, as the players have different skill sets. Kelley is more of a physical, bruising back while Jones is a mixture of strength and speed. Pairing them together could be a good tandem for Jay Gruden’s offense.

At the end of the day, it remains to be seen what the Redskins will do. However, activating Jones could definitely help them out and take some of the pressure off of Kelley. If they do not, Kelley could hit the rookie wall hard in the last two weeks of the season.