6 Players the Cowboys Will Regret Cutting From 53-Man Roster

3. Royce Freeman, running back

The Dallas Cowboys have taken an interesting strategic path at the running back position this offseason. They are a lot more confident in the guys they've got right now than the outside perception. Let's take a quick look at the depth chart...

Ezekiel Elliott is the presumptive RB1 in Dallas, which is nothing new to Cowboys fans, but it's also old news. Elliott was a first-round pick way back in 2016 and even though he's only 29 years old, that's pretty old in running back terms. Especially with all of the usage Elliott has seen throughout the course of his career.

Behind Elliott right now are Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn. Dowdle had a respectable 361 yards and two rushing touchdowns last year but we didn't see anything from Deuce Vaughn at all. The Cowboys are obviously trusting in the scouting and vision on those guys behind Elliott, because Royce Freeman had a pretty good offseason program for this team.

The former third-round pick of the Denver Broncos out of Oregon impressed the Cowboys' coaching staff not only as a running back but as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and a core-four special teams asset. The decision to cut Freeman leaves the Cowboys vulnerable to losing him to other running back-needy teams, but some might argue that backs like Freeman are a dime a dozen.

The Cowboys are sniffing around the idea of bringing in Dalvin Cook as a free agent pickup, so perhaps the team isn't done adding at running back. Freeman could be back on the practice squad but he had seemingly done well enough to earn a roster spot.