The Dallas Cowboys were forced to carry four running backs on their 53-man roster to start the season due to the unknown availability of Ezekiel Elliott for the entire 2017 season. But luckily, Elliott’s fate for the rest of the season may be determined as soon as sometime next week. That means the Cowboys could decide to finally cut ties with one of their veteran running backs, Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden, if Elliott avoids suspension this year.
I’m not trying to jump the gun here or anything, but I believe having Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden is an unneeded luxury, especially when roster spots are so valuable. This is even more true considering the fact David Irving will be returning from his four-game suspension after this week’s matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Irving would be a welcomed addition on defense, but finding him a roster spot isn’t going to be easy.
Hopefully we will know whether or not Ezekiel Elliott can play the remainder of the season before a roster spot is needed. If #21 is suspended though, Irving would likely take his roster spot, because Elliott would have to start serving his suspension immediately. But, if Elliott is cleared to play, I think Morris or McFadden’s job security is in doubt.
Let’s break this down a little bit further to determine whether or not the Dallas Cowboys should cut ties with Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden.
Alfred Morris
It was a complete shock that the Dallas Cowboys decided to go with Alfred Morris as the primary backup running back to Ezekiel Elliott to start the 2017 season. Nearly everybody thought that Darren McFadden was the surefire RB2, but supposedly the Cowboys coaching staff believed Morris outplayed him in preseason and in practices.
Alfred Morris may have suited up the first three weeks of the season as the RB2, but you wouldn’t know it by his involvement on game day. To date, he has only four rushing attempts for 1 yard and a total of only nine offensive snaps. I doubt there’s another backup running back in the entire NFL to play less snaps than Morris. To me, that signals a wasted roster spot.
Darren McFadden
The fact that Alfred Morris has been active every week of the 2017 season and Darren McFadden inactive might be the only thing we need to know in regards to how the coaching staff views the RB position. It’s a scary thought to think Morris has outplayed McFadden the point where he’s among the inactive’s every week.
It may just be me, but that kind of indicates that if a roster spot was needed and it came down to Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden, the latter might be without a job sometime soon. Of course, we know that these types of roster moves typically comes down to who is making the most money. Unfortunately, that’s not in McFadden’s favor either. McFadden’s cap hit in 2017 is $695,000, while Morris’ is $2,137,500. Money speaks!
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All of this may come to nothing though. There is no way of determining whether or not the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff plans to cut ties with Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden anytime soon. It may make sense to me, but they obviously value their veteran RBs more than I do.
I personally think Rod Smith is capable of becoming the RB2 if Elliott is indeed able to play the entire 2017 season. He looked better than any of the RBs on the Cowboys roster, not named Ezekiel Elliott, in the preseason and off-season practices. But, he has never had to hold down such a significant role so far in his NFL career.
Regardless, a roster spot is soon to be needed and to me the running back position would be the one I target. Depth at the cornerback position is needed due to inexperience and injuries, and the same can be said about linebacker. It’s doubtful that they cut anybody along the defensive line or just about anywhere on offense except RB. Wide receiver could be a possibility, but the youth the Cowboys currently have shows quite a bit of promise.
So, you can see why I believe Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden could be seeing their time with the Dallas Cowboys coming to an end. Who knows? Maybe the Cowboys decide they don’t need either RB if Ezekiel Elliott remains available, but that’s probably unlikely.
Irvings comes back, Moore sent to PS. If a “good” CB/DB gets released/cut by another team, then DMC will be toast.
I don’t see the Cowboys trying to get Kellen Moore back on the PS. But, a roster spot is going to be needed for David Irving next week. That’s why I believe Morris and McFadden could be seeing their time with the Cowboys come to an end.
other option is Bene
That’s probably the way they would prefer to go, but with all that the injuries at CB, I kind of doubt it happens now.
I tend to agree with Tom…they’d prefer to release bene; but simply cannot right now. So, a rb being released will do, and in a few weeks after that, bene gets released to make room for Rico; provided the cbs are finally healthy enough to not need to rely on bene.
I don’t disagree. I really think that’s the direction they would prefer to go, just can’t because of injuries at the CB position. And, the last I heard Rico Gathers is still dealing with concussion symptoms. I don’t know if he will be added to the roster this season.
I’d go with the younger back, but DMC has that Arkansas connection with Jerry.
I think you’re talking about Rod Smith and I completely agree. I think he looked better than either Morris or McFadden in preseason. I don’t think McFadden’s Arkansas connections carry that much weight. Otherwise, he would probably be active on game days instead of Morris.
I like McFadden better than Morris. He has more speed than Morris. I think Dallas may be trying to trade McFadden that is why he is inactive. With Dallas who knows. Cooper Rush out plays Kelvin Moore and Moore is named backup to Prescott.
It’s definitely a mystery. I think the coaching staff just liked what they saw from Morris in practice and preseason more than McFadden. I haven’t heard any rumors that McFadden is on the trade block.
I don’t think Dallas is trying to trade him now because they have wait and see how the Elliot situation turns out but if Elliott is cleared the rest of the season then I could see them trying to trade him.
Exactly! I kind of find it hard to believe anybody would want to trade for him though. Teams would likely wait to see if the Cowboys cut him. But, all it takes is one interested team
Well McFadden is only 30 and had numerous seasons with little wear, including last year. I don’t think he’s lost it yet from the dominant RB he was in 2015, and IMO Morris is a chugger with less ability.
Plus, if EE were to go out and McF were on another team, what does Morris look like on 3rd down? Much rather have McFadden’s speed in the game.
Unless Morris comes alive in some way, I think we’ll see the shift back to McF and they’ll turn to him to spell Elliott, as we start getting into games with lots of carries.
Besides, when Terrance Williams is traded for draft picks, a roster spot will open… ;^)
I don’t really think McFadden was all that dominant in 2015. Yes, he rushed for over 1000 yards, but only found the end zone three times. Also, he didn’t look very explosive in preseason. To me, he looked like he has lost a step. I don’t know if the Cowboys will continue to keep Morris and McFadden, but it just seems like a luxury to me to keep two veteran RBs who don’t really contribute anywhere except the running game. They’re not going to get on the field very often unless Elliott ends up getting suspended this year or gets injured.
I also highly doubt Terrance Williams gets traded. I know a lot of Cowboys fans want to see it happen, but the Cowboys coaching staff really values what he brings to the offense. If Brice Butler continues to show up, he may be the one on the trading block though. But, I kind of doubt that happens either.
Let’s not forget, when Irving comes back that makes 10 D line men; do we need that many??
Probably not, but I would rather have more depth that there. Defensive lineman are more difficult to come by during the season.
Yes they should cut ties with both at the end of the season and pick-up a RB in the draft. This is all based on the assumption that Zeke plays the rest of this year. As far as David Irving, they might cut Bene, but we have a ton of CBs on/off injury list.The timing is crappy. Irving is eligible after this Sunday. Zeke /NFL court hearing happens Monday. Zeke may not be playing for 6 games after that court date. So to let a RB go for Irving, this Monday, seems daring, at the least. I like Brian Price, but I think that is the direction they may go. Irving and Crawford can both slide into the middle to relieve Paea…..what do you think?
I think they will wait until after they find out what will happen with Elliott before making a roster move. I don’t think they will release Brian Price. He is really the only other 1-tech on the roster besides Paea. CB is tricky also because of all of the injuries. That is why releasing one of the veteran RBs made sense to me. But, that can only happen if Zeke can play all season. Unfortunately, it’s one of those wait-and-see situations.
The 1st week in October will be an interesting one for the Cowboys.
Fortunately the NFL’s chances of fighting Elliot’s stay of suspension, are tied to an underlying case which has already been gutted. Most likely IMO that EE is playing 16 and playoffs this year. And then winning in court in the offseason.
The Cowboys do need a coherent plan to spell Elliott as we get into the thick of the season. He’s best deployed long enough to get games won, and not long enough to wear him out before the playoffs.
Trade McFadden to Minnesota… even for a 6th or 7th round pick. It’s something.
Trading McFadden is a possibility, but I think the Cowboys are waiting to see what happens with Ezekiel Elliott.