Running back Ronald Jones II was activated from the league’s Reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday, per the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jones broke a pinky in the Bucs’ Week 14 victory over the Vikings and subsequently underwent a minor surgery to repair the fracture, putting his immediate availability in question moving forward, but would eventually miss Tampa Bay’s next two games against the Falcons and Lions anyway after being placed on the Reserve list.
Head coach Bruce Arians said that he’s hoping to have Jones active for the Bucs’ regular season finale on Sunday against the Falcons, but noted that the team would need to get the third-year back out of the league’s protocol and back to practice on Wednesday to ensure that his recovery will allow him to suit up in Week 17.
“You’re guess is as good as mine still, I haven’t been able to talk to him,” Arians said about Jones’ status on Monday. “Hopefully he’s clearing the COVID [protocol] and we can get him in the building to look at him and see if he can actually play with [his broken finger.] I’ve got my fingers crossed that we can get him a bunch of game action this week but we’re not going to risk him not being able to protect himself.”
Tampa Bay will return to practice on Wednesday and release their first depth chart of the week later that afternoon, giving a better glimpse into Jones’ health and availability as the Bucs prepare for Sunday’s matchup.