Jon has had a safety net since the start of the Circle era. Ever since Richie went off the rails at the Unplugged concert in 2007 and they had to do the show in Puerto Rico with Bobby on lead guitar, he had realized that this wasn't enough to bridge the gap if it happened again. So, knowing that history and obviously being close to Richie and knowing his circumstances, there was a backup plan in place once they hit the road for the next album.