The Washington Redskins haven't given up on running back Matt Jones. They just don't know when he'll be active again.
Their one-time starter was inactive for the first time Sunday as Rob Kelley is now the starter and Mack Brown served as the backup because of his ability to play special teams. Chris Thompson is the third-down back so that left Jones sidelined during the 26-20 win. But coach Jay Gruden said that won't necessarily happen each week.
"We just have to make that determination every week," Gruden said. "We're not giving up on Matt. But when you can only dress three running backs, the third one we would like to have some impact on special teams. That's not always going to be the case. Sometimes we may not need our third running back to be on special teams, we can get Matt up."
The story said Kelley isn't about to lose the starting job anytime soon. Jones injured his knee in a Week 7 loss at Detroit, opening the way for Kelley. Coaches have preached to Jones about being more decisive consistently, but that wasn't always happening. Kelley has been consistent -- Sunday, 17 of his 22 runs were between two and five yards. That consistency will leave Jones as a backup and inactive, at least for some games, moving forward. His competition now becomes Brown, another former undrafted player like Kelley. Jones was a third-round choice a year ago.
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