3 Cowboys Starters Who Will Be Benched this Season

1. Ezekiel Elliott, RB

Dallas decided to go cheap at running back after overspending for several years. Ironically enough, that led to them signing Ezekiel Elliott, just one year after releasing him.

Elliott has been unfairly criticized for not living up to his massive contract signed in 2019. However, the Cowboys were the ones who somehow thought it was a good idea to add six years and $90 million to a running back’s contract — even though there were still two years on that deal.

Once they could feasibly get out of his contract, they did so but then had another issue. Tony Pollard had wrapped up his rookie deal and with no extension, and coming off a serious injury, he was hit with the franchise tag. That meant as soon as they stopped paying $15 million per year for Elliott, they were on the hook for more than $10 million for Pollard.

He topped 1,000 yards for the second year in a row but only hit 100 in a single game once. That led to his departure in free agency and Dallas spurned players such as Derrick Henry in favor of Elliott. They also recently signed Dalvin Cook to the practice squad, leading to several jokes about washed-up backs in Big D.

While Zeke and Cook have the name recognition, neither should be starting by the end of the season. Instead, it should be Rico Dowdle who proved himself capable as a runner and receiver in 2023. The fourth-year pro had 505 yards and four touchdowns in relief of Pollard and returned on a one-year deal.

Head coach Mike McCarthy has been singing his praises, which should let everyone know how this will eventually play out.

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