Mike McCarthy 'very impressed' with how Royce Freeman has adapted to Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys head into the 2024 season with a running back-by-committee approach, but that doesn’t mean one player can’t separate himself from the pack before Week 1. Head coach Mike McCarthy opened up on Wednesday about one of the team’s newcomers, former Rams running back Royce Freeman. McCarthy noted Freeman’s surprising size (6-foot-0, 238 lbs) as well as his ability to quickly adapt to the Cowboys’ offense.

“Very impressed with him,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “When you have the opportunity to play in a number of different systems, I’m very impressed with how quickly he picked up the language. Football comes pretty easy to him. It’s natural. You can see that protection. He has been an excellent addition.”

Freeman has previous stops with four different teams – the Broncos, Panthers, Texans and the Rams – so he’s no stranger to adapting to new systems. He spent the 2023 season with the Rams, who added him to the roster after the retirement of Sony Michel.

So far, Freeman has spent his career primarily as a backup contributor. He’s made nine career starts in 79 games played. In his first six seasons in the league, the 2018 draftee has posted 471 carries, 1,792 yards with 10 touchdown runs. He’s also added 86 receptions, 532 yards and one more touchdown.

The Cowboys signed Freeman to a one-year deal worth $1.29 million in April. He’s one of just three free-agent pickups the team inked this offseason.

McCarthy ‘comfortable’ with running back by committee

Following the departure of Tony Pollard, it was unclear how the Cowboys would approach the running back situation for the 2024 season. Unwilling to spend big bucks on a premiere name in free agency, the team picked up several young options, and a couple of veterans with Ezekiel Elliott and Freeman this offseason.

The team is now chock-full of running backs, but it’s unclear who will take the reins when the season begins – whether it be Deuce Vaughn, Snoop Conner, Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis or another former undrafted free agent.

“I think it’s the times that we’re in. 17 games is a lot of football,” McCarthy said earlier this month. “That’s a big role for those guys. Don’t get me wrong, they’d all like to carry it like the old days and have all those touches, but you want those guys fresh at the most important time of year. It’s all part of the planning and how you project touches and playing time.”

Of all the running backs on the roster, Elliott is the only one who’s played the feature back role in the NFL. Despite bringing him back for another run, McCarthy isn’t planning to put the full load on the former first-rounder as he believes that wouldn’t be “fair.”

“We’re running back by committee, but I think he’ll definitely play at the level that he’s played, I know, in my time here. I anticipate that,” McCarthy said. “I don’t see any drop off in the way he moves. He’s in good shape. … He’s come in here, and he’s picked up right where he left off.”