Ronald Jones – RB
If this game had happened in any other week of the season, Leonard Fournette would be the guy placed here. However, the former LSU star injured his hamstring against the New Orleans Saints and is possibly out for the remainder of the regular season.
With the injury, Ronald Jones will step into the starting role at running back and has plenty of experience doing so.
Jones is in his fourth NFL season and put up career numbers last year before getting injured down the stretch. Had he not suffered this complication, the USC product would have likely rushed for 1,000 yards on the year.
Now Jones will be the main man in the backfield with Fournette out. Despite the Carolina Panthers boasting a solid run defense this year, they’ve been exposed a lot.
Jones not only will be looking to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers get back in the win column. But he’ll also be looking to prove why he should be a starter and not a backup in the league.
The Panthers have to take advantage of Fournette missing the contest and bottle Jones up as much as they can. If not, it’ll be a long day at the office during what is the team’s final home fixture of the 2021 season.