Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle ruled out for remainder of Patriots game

The Dallas Cowboys will be short-handed at running back for the remainder of Sunday’s game against the Patriots. The Athletic‘s Jon Machota reported that Rico Dowdle will miss the remainder of the Week 4 games for Dallas.

Dowdle left Sunday’s game with a hip injury and will not return. He had nine rushing yards on three carries and caught one pass for eight yards before his exit.

Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle (hip) has been ruled out for the rest of the game.

Same for Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez (shoulder)

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 1, 2023

Entering Sunday’s game, Dowdle had 71 rushing yards on 17 carries and had three receptions for 42 yards. He caught his first touchdown pass of the season in last weekend’s loss to the Cardinals.

The Cowboys may not need Dowdle’s services anyway, taking a 28-3 lead into halftime against New England.

Dowdle entered Week 4 as Dallas’ second-best RB

Although he only had 71 rushing yards to his name through the first three games, Dowdle entered the fourth week of the NFL season as the second-leading rusher for the Cowboys. Tony Pollard led the squad with 264 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Dowdle was undrafted out of South Carolina in 2020 and has carved out a prominent role for himself in Dallas. He signed with the team as an undrafted free agent and has spent the first four seasons of his career with the Cowboys.

In his first three seasons, Dowdle did not have much of a role with the team. He has taken on more responsibilities with the offense early in 2023. Hopefully he’ll return to the field next week.

Cowboys honor Ezekiel Elliott in return to AT&T Stadium

While we’re on the subject of Dallas running backs, Ezekiel Elliott returned to AT&T Stadium on Sunday, this time as a member of the Patriots. But the Cowboys showed a lot of respect to their former star.

Team owner Jerry Jones spruced up a video tribute for the team’s former first-round selection.

Elliott rushed for 8,262 yards in seven seasons with Dallas, exceeding the 1,000-yard mark four times. He was responsible for 80 total touchdowns, 68 coming on the ground. The running back was also a three-time Pro Bowl selection while with the Cowboys.

Cowboys pregame video honoring Ezekiel Elliott pic.twitter.com/OfPRlJCkm4

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 1, 2023

The Cowboys released Elliott on March 15, opting not to pay the remainder of the six-year, $90 million extension he signed in 2019. Elliott, 28, was set to count $16.7 million against the salary cap in 2023 had Dallas retained him.

He remained a free agent for five months before the Patriots signed him on Aug. 16. Between March and August, Jones considered adding him back to the roster. Alas, the former Buckeye went with a one-year deal for $3 million to New England instead.

“I wanted the best for him but also the best for the Cowboys,” Jones said of his business decision. “I was kind of laying in the weeds, thinking that maybe it wouldn’t go well for him with another team and we would get to do something but I knew that wouldn’t be the case when Bill Belichick called and asked all the right questions.”

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this story.