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Former Cowboys RB Lands New Job With Dallas Asleep at the Wheel

Former Cowboys running back Royce Freeman plans to sign to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad.

By Jason Schandl

Aug 24, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Royce Freeman (27) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the third quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Aug 24, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Royce Freeman (27) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the third quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
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What a day for Jerry Jones. Fresh off an embarrassing defeat, his Dallas Cowboys are one of only 10 teams in the NFL averaging less than 100 rushing yards per game.

He's still bitter that the one running back he seemed to care about signed elsewhere. He somehow thinks Dalvin Cook is the answer to the Cowboys' backfield woes, but also claims there aren't actually any woes. Lastly, he watched another Super Bowl contender sign the best remaining free-agent running back available.

And now, while Jerry continues to refuse to acknowledge there's a problem in the Cowboys' backfield, another potential option is off the table. And this one's a familiar face.

Royce Freeman, who impressed and even seemed like he might fight for the Cowboys' starting job this offseason, has signed to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. This might not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it's a sign of the deeper issues in Dallas.

By many accounts, Freeman was consistently one of the best-looking Cowboys running backs this offseason. They ended up cutting ties with the 28-year-old, instead opting to sign Dalvin Cook.

The same Dalvin Cook who averaged 3.2 yards per carry on just 67 rushes in 2023. The same Dalvin Cook who didn't get any preseason run and hasn't even been active for the Cowboys yet.

At this point, Jones feels like that guy in your fantasy football league who doesn't pay much attention to football and is always drafting former stars who are clearly done being legitimate producers. What did Cook show Jerry that Freeman didn't?

And considering, Freeman was willing to take a practice squad spot in Cleveland, it's more disappointing that Jerry couldn't keep him in Dallas in that capacity.

So Jones has made it abundantly clear that Cowboys fans need to hope one of two things is true. Either the Dallas faithful is wrong about what they've seen so far and Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott have been great, or Dalvin Cook is still a potential Pro Bowler and 31 other teams completely ignored him this offseason because they're just not as smart as Jones.

Neither one feels like something we want to bank on moving forward.

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