Redskins Informed RB Matt Jones That He’s No. 5 On RB Depth Chart

Mike Silver of NFL Media reports that the Redskins have informed RB Matt Jones that he’s their No. 5 running back, which is why he has elected to skip OTAs.

On Wednesday, HC Jay Gruden said he’s hoping Jones will return to the team at some point.

“I hope so,” Gruden said, via Pro Football Talk. “I expect him to be. He’s on our roster, he’s eating up a spot. We all know that this is voluntary, so there’s really nothing that we can do. We’d like everybody to be here without a doubt, but at the end of the day, Jordan Reed is in Miami working out, Trent [Williams] is working out in Oklahoma, Matt Jones chose not to be here, so we obviously want people to work together and learn together, but it is voluntary at the end of the day.”

Mike Jones of the Washington Post, citing a person familiar with Jones’ situation, recently reported that the running back hasn’t shown up for OTAs because members of the Redskins’ coaching staff have informed him that he’s no longer a part of their plans.

Washington plans to move forward with Rob Kelley and fourth-round pick Samaje Perine, which means Jones is the odd-man-out in the Redskins’ backfield.

Jones is reportedly back in Florida and waiting to either be traded or released, but it appears as though he’s more likely to be released at this point in the NFL offseason. As of now, Jones has yet to be informed as to when the Redskins will make a move.

During the recent draft, the Redskins had Jones on the trading block but were unable to complete a deal.

Jones, 24, is a former third-round pick of the Redskins back in 2015. He’s currently in the third year of his four-year, $2.952 million contract and stands to make a base salary of $639,113 in 2017.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading Jones would free up $489,146 in available cap space while creating $299,708 in dead money.

In 2016, Jones has appeared in seven games and rushed for 490 yards on 144 carries (3.4 YPC) to go along with 19 receptions for 304 yards receiving and four total touchdowns.

We’ll have more regarding Jones and the Redskins as the news is available.