The Cowboys should have waited to re-sign Lance Dunbar

We will discuss whether or not the Dallas Cowboys should have waited to re-sign Lance Dunbar.

It should come to no surprise that the Dallas Cowboys decided to re-sign running back Lance Dunbar. Especially how both Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones and the team’s executive vice president Stephen Jones talked about him during the off-season.

Although Dunbar was a free agent, he was spoken about as if he was still a member of the Cowboys roster and would continue to be part of the team in 2016.

So, the move shouldn’t come too much of a surprise to anyone but the timing of the contract agreement is somewhat questionable. At least it was to me.

I think I would have rather seen the Cowboys wait until after the draft to re-sign Dunbar, especially considering the fact that he has struggled with injuries thus far in his NFL career and is still in the middle of a lengthy recovery from a serious knee injury.

Dunbar was one of the few bright spots on a struggling offense in 2015 until he sustained a torn ACL and a torn patellar tendon while returning a kickoff against the New Orleans Saints during their week four matchup.

Up until his injury, Dunbar was able to accumulate 21 catches for 215 receiving yards and was quickly becoming a match a problem for opposing defenses.

Personally, I think the fact that Dunbar was receiving interest from several teams led the Cowboys go ahead and re-sign him and not get into a bidding war to secure his services.

Last week Dunbar visited the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks, and on Wednesday he visited the Chicago Bears before ultimately deciding to re-sign with the Cowboys on a one-year “prove it” deal worth about $1.75 million.

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Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against the Cowboys bringing back Dunbar, but because of his lengthy journey back from a serious knee injury I don’t see how he will be able to suit up once the season kicks off. I can even see a scenario where he will probably start off on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, which will cause him to miss the first six weeks of the season.

The thought the Dunbar might have to sit out the first six weeks of the season is one of the reasons I think the Cowboys could have waited until after the draft to offer him a contract, but again I can understand their reasoning.

Actually, I think they probably could have drafted a player that could immediately step in and fill the different roles that Dunbar has during his time with the Cowboys.

A favorite of mine to replace Dunbar is Tyler Erwin out of San Diego State, but there are other names that could do the job as well. DeAndre Washington (Texas Tech), Aaron Green (TCU), and D. J. Foster (Arizona State) are all players I thought the Cowboys could be interested in if they decided to move on from Dunbar, but this is unlikely now unless they are uncomfortable with his recovery from his knee injury.

Ultimately, it was probably the right move for the Cowboys to make but it’s a move that I find difficult to get behind considering the fact Dunbar seems to get injured every time he starts to show flashes of what he can become.

I personally would like to have seen if they could’ve found someone to replace him in the draft that might be able to stay healthy throughout an entire season.

Who knows the reasoning behind signing Dunbar. It could be that they just wanted to provide depth to the running back position and they still just might be looking to find his replacement through the draft.

At this point in the off-season all we can do is speculate and try to determine what the organization is trying to accomplish by the moves they make or the moves they decide not to, but that’s part of the fun of it right?

Let me know where you stand. Do you think the Cowboys were wise to go ahead and re-sign Dunbar or do you think they should’ve waited?

Use the comment section below to express your thoughts and opinions.

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