Stephen Jones addresses Cowboys' running back situation after departure of Tony Pollard
So many big name running backs made major moves this week. The Cowboys lost starter Tony Pollard to free agency and did not sign a replacement.
Also, Dallas did not appear to show any interest in the big names. For instance, Derrick Henry, the Titan turned Raven, told reporters he never heard from the Cowboys, although he lives in the Dallas area during the off season.
Stephen Jones, the Cowboys executive VP, said the team would be “efficient” in dealing with the running back room.
“This is an organization that has been built on great backs, whether it’s Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Emmitt Smith, Ezekiel Elliott or Tony Pollard,” Jones told reporters this week. “We’re big believers in backs. They bring a lot to the table.
“Unfortunately, we’re at a point where we have to make some decisions in terms of where we allocate dollars,” he said. “We feel like there’s going to be ways to address the running back situation in a more efficient way. We’ll see how that works out.”
About one third of the NFL swapped running backs on the free agency market this week. Within the NFC East, the Eagles signed former Giant Saquon Barkley to replace D’Andre Swift. NY signed Devin Singletary and the Commanders got Austin Ekeler from the Chargers. And the Cowboys did nothing.
The running backs currently on the roster are Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis and Hunter Luepke. Meanwhile, Pollard is gone and Rico Dowdle is a free agent. Even Jones acknowledged the Cowboys”don’t have an established back in the organization right now.”
So what might the Cowboys do? Dallas does need to address the position. Maybe they go the NFL Draft route. But the running back draft class is not very deep, especially at the top. There is no running back projected to go in the first round. The best back may be former Texas Longhorn Jonathon Brooks, who is coming off of ACL surgery.
Other top running backs available in the draft are Blake Corum, Trey Benson, Bucky Irving and Jaylen Wright. And those runners probably are late second to third rounders, if not early, third day picks.
The Cowboys are saving their coins for a Dak Prescott contract as well as one for receiver CeeDee Lamb. They also may need to throw more zeroes toward Micah Parsons. So with the running backs, efficient may mean cheap.