5 Cowboys Offseason Moves That Are Already Flops at Midway Point of Season

2. Not Adding Another Quality Running back

Another area where Dallas stayed too inactive was at running back. It’s hard to fault them for releasing Ezekiel Elliott, who had an albatross of a contract. We can, however, criticize them for the decision to pay a running back so much for so many years but in the end, they finally came to their senses.

The problem is, they didn’t truly replace him.

Dallas did retain Tony Pollard by way of the franchise tag — which was a smart move. He was fresh off a 1,000-yard campaign so it made sense to give him the reins. Also, it’s fine paying a running back if the deal is short-term, which is exactly what the tag is.

However, they didn’t get a suitable backup. Their only attempt to do so was when they signed Ronald Jones but he never took a snap in Big D before being released. Now, they have Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn, and fullback Hunter Luepke behind Pollard.

Dowdle has been the best of that bunch but head coach Mike McCarthy seems hesitant to trust him. If it has to do with his lack of experience then that’s even more proof they made a mistake not looking for someone they would trust. (For the record, Dowdle should get the ball more and his poor usage could be a flop in itself).