As Michael Scott from the hit show “The Office” once said: “Well, well, well. How the turn tables.”

That’s the situation Bucs running back Ronald Jones II is in after regaining the starting running back position he once held.

It was around this time last year that Jones contracted COVID-19 and broke his pinky, forcing him to miss Weeks 15 and 16 of the regular season. This opened the door for Leonard Fournette to become the starter. When a quad injury held Jones out of the wild card round of the postseason, Fournette kicked in the door and Playoff Lenny was born.

Jones was well on his way to reaching 1,000 rushing yards before missing those two games late in the year. Even then, he still came up just 22 yards short. But Jones’ fortunes changed once Fournette got in the driver’s seat and went on a torrid postseason run to help the Bucs win Super Bowl LV.

Fast forward to this season and Jones never got that starting role back. Fournette has been even better than his playoff performance, rushing for 812 yards and eight touchdowns along with 69 catches for 454 yards and two scores.

Jones, on the other hand, was forced into a backup role. He’s lucky to get 15 snaps a game on offense just to give Fournette a rest. It looked like he would hardly see the field again.

Until now.

A hamstring injury to Fournette on Sunday night caused him to leave the game early. In came Jones, who ran eight times for 63 yards – 7.9 yards per attempt. With Fournette expected to miss a game or two, Jones will get his first start of the season on Sunday at Carolina. Last year he ran for a career-high 192 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown in a 46-23 victory.

One year later and it’s Jones who’s replacing Fournette and trying to provide a spark down the stretch.

“It really is. It’s his time now to do what happened for Leonard last year when he got hurt,” Bruce Arians said.  “I’ve got all the confidence in the world, he ran great, caught the ball good and I think going forward it’s his job right now.”

Jones played 22 snaps in the Bucs’ 9-0 loss to the Saints, which was the second highest for him this season. Despite his impact on the ground game, Jones’ last touch came with over 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Arians admitted he should’ve gotten him the ball more when it was still a one possession game.

“It’s just a matter of pass protection and some other things we were trying to do,” Arians said. “But had we continued to run the ball, which we probably should have, then Ro would’ve played more. It’s a matter of opportunities. When your opportunities come you got to be ready. I thought Ro ran really well. He caught the ball good.”

It’s not the type of year that Jones was expecting. He’s recorded just 337 rushing yards on 71 attempts with three touchdowns. A great run down the stretch could change everything, though. Just ask Fournette.

Whether Jones gets the job for one game, two games or the entire playoff run, this is the chance he’s wanted.

“Most definitely,” Jones said. “I’m always ready when [my] number is called, so just making the most out of the opportunities.”