Gruden: Redskins prepared to take 'gamble' on Jones as new lead RB

Alfred Morris joining the Dallas Cowboys on a relatively inexpensive two-year contract on Tuesday all but confirmed that the Washington Redskins didn't intend to bring him back this offseason.

That decision, head coach Jay Gruden says, was made easier knowing that second-year running back Matt Jones is ready to step into a role atop the depth chart.

"Matt played well and we're very excited about him," Gruden said this week at the NFL's owners meetings, according to CSN Washington's Tarik El-Bashir. "We let a heck of a running back, and a very productive running back, go because we have Matt."

Gruden went on to concede that he knows Jones has areas of his game he'll need to improve on and that the team is taking somewhat of a risk, but he's confident the 23-year-old will soon put it all together.

"We need him to protect the ball a little bit more," said Gruden. "He's a big, strong, powerful back that I think can handle the workload; time will tell on that. We're taking a bit of a gamble here, but based on our professional opinion, we believe he can handle it and be very, very effective at it, toting the rock."

As a rookie, it wasn't long before Jones was challenging Morris for carries. His most productive game of the season came in Week 2, where he shredded the now-former St. Louis Rams defense for 123 yards and two touchdowns on just 19 carries.

Some sporadic production in a timeshare role thereafter saw Jones finish his rookie season with 490 yards and three touchdowns, meanwhile adding another 304 yards and one score as a receiver out of the backfield.

- With h/t to NFL.com