Jerry Jones on potential Jonathan Taylor trade: I feel good about our running back position

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed the possibility of the team trading for Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor while speaking with the media Tuesday.

While Jones didn’t outright dismiss it, he emphasized he’s very comfortable in his backfield group led by Tony Pollard.

“I look at every opportunity,” Jones said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But the way our young backs are playing, I am very comfortable where we are with our backs right now. I feel good about our running back position if we didn’t add anybody.”

Taylor, who requested a trade from the Colts this past month, was given permission from team owner Jim Irsay Monday to pursue potential destinations. Taylor, working his way back from a right ankle injury, remains on the physically unable to perform list (PUP). The Colts placed Taylor on the PUP list on July 25, and the 24-year-old has made it clear to the team he won’t return to the field until he is 100% healthy. Two days after reporting back to training camp, Taylor left the team again to tend to a personal matter. The absence, per the team, is excused.

Taylor battled injury during the 2022 season, appearing in 11 games for the Colts. He finished the year with 861 rushing yards and four touchdowns. In 2021, Taylor’s second year in the league, the former Wisconsin star produced at an incredibly high level. He rushed for a league-leading 1,811 yards and scored 18 touchdowns on the ground. Taylor added 40 receptions for 360 receiving yards and two scores.

Does a Jonathan Taylor-Cowboys partnership make sense?

While undoubtedly one of the best running backs in the NFL, the fit in Dallas seems questionable at best, given Pollard’s presence. After serving as the backup and later in a committee with Ezekiel Elliott for the past four seasons, Pollard now projects as the undisputed RB1 coming off a career season. Splitting the snaps almost evenly with Elliott, Pollard rushed for 1,007 yards on 5.2 yards per carry and nine touchdowns. He added 39 receptions for 371 yards and three scores.

Searching for snaps behind Pollard are Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn — all of whom are very inexperienced. Dowdle has been active for 20 games since 2020, while Davis had 44 touches for 224 yards and a touchdown as a rookie last season. Vaughn, the sixth-round pick out of Kansas State, has been a training camp/preseason darling, rushing for 50 yards on eight carries in the preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.