Saints try out running backs with Tony Jones Jr. facing 3-4 week absence

We haven’t learned many specifics about the ankle injury Tony Jones Jr. suffered against the New York Giants, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Tuesday afternoon that the New Orleans Saints’ backup running back is facing an absence of three to four weeks while recovering.

While New Orleans could get by with Alvin Kamara and Dwayne Washington in a pinch, that prompted the team to bring in a group of five free agents for workouts while searching for a third runner:

Ryquell Armstead

Armstead, 24, was a fifth round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019 and has appeared in 16 games in the NFL, all with Jacksonville. He’s logged 35 rushing attempts for 108 yards (3.1 yards per carry) while catching 14 of his 24 targets for another 144 receiving yards, scoring two touchdown receptions. He’s a good but not great athlete with a Relative Athletic Score of 7.74.

Brian Hill

Hill, 25, has appeared in 45 games since being selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft — all but six of them in Atlanta. His heaviest workload came in 2020 when he ran 100 times for 465 rushing yards (4.65 YPC) and one touchdown, also catching 25 of his 30 targets for 199 yards through the air. He’s a similar solid athlete with an RAS of 7.40.

Duke Johnson

Johnson, 28, might be the biggest name on this list. He’s spent most of his NFL career with the Cleveland Browns (who drafted him in the third round back in 2015) until he joined the Houston Texans in 2019. He’s totaled 299 carries for 1,286 rushing yards (4.3 YPC) with 8 scoring runs while catching an impressive 307 passes off of 400 targets, putting up 2,829 receiving yards and a dozen touchdown grabs. He’s a more modest athlete than his peers, but still plenty good enough (RAS of 6.97) for the NFL.

Lamar Miller

Miller, 30, was an elite athlete when he came out of Miami back in 2012 (drafted in the fourth round by his hometown Miami Dolphins, of course), posting an RAS of 9.38. He went on to log 1,354 rushing attempts to gain 5,864 yards (4.3 YPC) and score 32 touchdown runs for the Dolphins and Houston Texans, also catching 211 receptions on 273 targets for another 1,571 receiving yards and 8 more touchdown catches. But he only saw two receptions for 6 yards in one game with the Chicago Bears last year.

Ito Smith

My personal preference (Southern Miss, To The Top!), Smith is a 26-year-old veteran who played 35 games with the Atlanta Falcons, who annoyingly drafted him in the fourth round in 2018. He’s seen 175 carries for 689 rushing yards (3.9 YPC) and half a dozen touchdown runs while going 55-of-72 as a receiver, gaining 314 yards through the air. Unfortunately for my personal rooting interests, he’s the least productive and least athletic player on this list, with an RAS of just 6.26.

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