By Tim MacMahon
ESPNDallas.com
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IRVING, Texas -- Forget the flashes of brilliance you've seen from Felix Jones since the Dallas Cowboys decided to invest a first-round pick in a complementary back.

He's not that guy anymore. He's no longer a dynamic playmaker capable of giving his team momentum any time he touches the ball.

Jones is Curvin Richards now.

That name ring a bell? He's the backup running back Jimmy Johnson cut for fumbling twice in the 1992 regular-season finale. Johnson decided the only way Richards could help the Cowboys was as a sacrificial lamb. Johnson made an example out of Richards, and the Cowboys won the Super Bowl weeks later.

Jones has only fumbled once this season, gifting a field goal to the Seattle Seahawks by coughing it up on the opening kickoff Sunday, but poor ball security isn't the primary reason he should be released. It should just be the final straw.

Actually, Jones shouldn't have survived the round of cuts to get down to the 53-man roster.

It's a cardinal sin for a running back to show up to training camp out of shape, but he failed the conditioning test the evening before the first practice. Of course, a lot of sins can be forgiven for guys who can make plays.

The problem: Jones' days of making plays are done.

There isn't a dropoff from flabby Felix to Phillip Tanner. And Lance Dunbar would be an upgrade on kickoff returns.

Jones is a change-of-pace back who is significantly slower than the starter. He has no burst or wiggle. He makes tacklers miss less often than he misses meals. His ineptitude was evident on the final play of Sunday's stinker, when he stumbled and fell despite no tackler being near him on a meaningless screen pass against the Seahawks' prevent defense.

Jerry Jones is on the record predicting a big year from his fellow Arkansas alum, but that's silly spin from a salesman. Want to know what the coaches really think of their beefy backup tailback? Felix Jones has a grand total of one carry in two games, and they're looking at other alternatives to return kicks.

Jason Garrett said Sunday evening that the thought of cutting Jones hadn't even entered his consciousness. There was some progress by Monday afternoon.

"We'll continue to evaluate Felix like we do every player on our football team and decide what that role is going forward," Garrett said, no longer completely dismissing the idea of dumping Jones.

Jones' role should be the sacrificial lamb.