It’s annoying to see the New Orleans Saints lose a player and get nothing back in compensation, but it’s important to acknowledge this was a risk they were willing to take. And it was reasonable to think a running back with just two carries this season wouldn’t have had a problem clearing the waiver wire.
But that wasn’t the case — ESPN’s Field Yates reports that three different teams filed waiver claims for former Saints running back Tony Jones Jr. when the team let him go earlier this week. New Orleans may have had designs for Jones to return to their practice squad after going unclaimed, but several other teams were waiting for him to become available, and now he’ll be running for another squad.
To be totally honest, it isn’t that big of a loss. Jones was a healthy inactive twice this season before the Saints chose to waive him. He’s logged 59 rushing attempts for 163 yards (2.8 yards per carry) in his three-year NFL career, catching 7 of 10 targets to gain another 41 yards. He wasn’t going to get many snaps behind Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram II, and Dwayne Washington. But it is another hit to a weak area on the depth chart that’s struggled through the first five weeks of the season.
Anyway — here are the teams that submitted waiver claims for Jones:
Denver Broncos
Yeah, the team that just poached Latavius Murray from the Saints practice squad tried to take Jones, too. It’s ironic considering the Saints released Murray last season because they thought Jones would be a better option — they were nearly teammates again in Denver, where Murray is competing with Melvin Gordon III, Mike Boone, and practice squad running back Devine Ozigbo (another former Saint) for snaps. But the Broncos had a too-low waiver claim priority and weren’t able to get Jones.
Arizona Cardinals
Running back wasn’t an area of concern for the Cardinals going into Week 5, but they suffered three injuries at the position in their game with the Philadelphia Eagles: James Conner (ribs), Jonathan Ward (hamstring), and Darrel Williams (knee), and the last man standing, Eno Benjamin, was slowed down by muscle cramps late in the game. It makes sense that they took a flier on Jones in light of all those different injuries.
Seattle Seahawks
And here’s the team Jones actually landed with, having had highest waiver claim priority. Seattle lost its leading rusher Rashaad Penny to a broken ankle in New Orleans, so it’s kind of fitting that they took a former Saints running back with them on their way out of town. And Jones is going to be, at worst, the third player in the rotation behind rookie draft pick Kenneth Walker III and second-year pro DeeJay Dallas. That’s an improvement over his standing in New Orleans. Good luck to him on a fresh start.
