A Dallas Cowboys insider believes the team will add another running back to their roster before training camp. It would make sense for the rumor mill to start churning out smoke soon about Dalvin Cook teaming up with Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield for the upcoming season.
The Cowboys lost Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans in free agency. They added Royce Freeman and Elliott in free agency, but that doesn’t appear to be enough.
Dallas Cowboys expected to add more help at RB
Cowboys beat reporter Jon Machota with The Athletic believes the College will add “at least one more” running back before or during the season. He doesn’t think the current depth chart at running back is sufficient for a playoff team:
As the roster sits, I think Ezekiel Elliott leads the team in touches, followed closely by Rico Dowdle. The No. 3 back is completely up in the air. It could be Royce Freeman, it could be Malik Davis, it could be Deuce Vaughn.
The Cowboys are hopeful that this plan will keep a couple of backs relatively healthy late in the season and entering the playoffs. The problem is, they need to be in position to be playing meaningful games late in the season. The last thing they need is to find out by Week 4 or 5 that they don’t have a group that they can consistently count on week to week.
Dalvin Cook had interest in joining the Cowboys
Michael Gehlken with the Dallas Morning News reported in March that Cooks and Elliott had expressed interest in signing with the Cowboys this offseason:
Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook are two veteran options who stand to draw strong club consideration as free agency progresses. Elliott spent seven seasons in Dallas from 2016-22. Cook would reunite with Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, his head coach on the Minnesota Vikings from 2017-21.
Team owner Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones told The Dallas Morning News this week at the NFL’s annual meeting they could neither confirm nor deny interest in the running backs. While they declined to comment, anyone contemplating the Cowboys’ direction at the position would be wise to monitor the veteran running backs in conjunction with a rookie pick. Multiple people familiar with the players’ thinking told The News the veterans have interest in potentially signing with Dallas.
Gehlken didn’t think at the time that the Cowboys could sign Cook and Elliott to the same roster because it was expected the team would draft a running back in April. The Cowboys chose to address other positions during the draft and signed Elliott.
With no rookie running back to make them pause, the Cowboys should entertain the idea of adding the 28-year-old Cook to the running back committee. The four-time Pro Bowl star has more give. Cook is the best running back still on the market.
