The Cowboys have cut Jaydon Blue, the fifth-round pick out of Texas just a year ago. A shocking decision, considering Brian Schottenheimer once called him "night and day" compared to last season. With Malik Davis at RB2, the Cowboys need to decide whether to go after a bargain free-agent RB in this situation.
The Cowboys have every reason to look at veteran RB Austin Ekeler, who's coming off a torn right Achilles tendon he suffered early in the 2025 season with Washington. He's been medically cleared to resume football activities as of this spring, but he remains unsigned.
The Cowboys did make the move to get Emari Demercado, and he has ties to the Cowboys' offensive coordinator, Klayton Adams, who was the former offensive line coach at Arizona during Demercado's time there. He's an undrafted RB from TCU in 2023, and while he got some solid reps with Arizona, there's an option to make life easier at RB.
Could Ekeler be the veteran that the Cowboys could use as the true RB2? There's a case for it.
Cowboys have every reason to sign free agent RB Austin Ekeler
Ekeler is a four-down back who can give you reps on the ground and easy yards on the catch. For reference, he's had four seasons with at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage in his NFL career. 2022 was his best season, leading the league with 1,637 total scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns.
Ekeler is clearly not done playing football either. He's eyeing the Las Vegas Raiders thanks to Ashton Jeanty's ankle injury in early August.
A torn Achilles tendon is nothing to play with, but if he's cleared to play and feels like playing, Jerry Jones could work another bargain deal, as he did with veteran pass rusher Von Miller. It was a one-year deal worth $5.5 million.
Ekeler was on a two-year contract with the Commanders worth up to $11.43 million. At 31 years old and coming off a major injury, Jones doesn't have to sign him for that much, and it can be a one-and-done deal with no sweat.
Davis deserves a role as a backup running back, but has he really done enough to be the RB2 for Dallas? Davis started to get his name called, as he had 52 rushing attempts, 250 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a solid preseason, but if the Cowboys feel comfortable about bringing in a veteran to back up Williams, they have every reason to.
The Cowboys may have already figured it out, but if they're still in the market to do some shuffling, they should.
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