Dallas Cowboys: 3 free agent running backs that make sense

After selecting two running backs in the recent NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys could be in the market to add a free agent veteran due to an early injury.

One of the biggest needs for the Dallas Cowboys entering the 2019 NFL Draft was finding an effective backup running back to spell All-Pro starter, Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys responded by drafting two rookie runners, Memphis’ Tony Pollard, and Ohio State’s Mike Weber.

Unfortunately, Weber suffered a knee injury during the Cowboys’ rookie minicamp on Saturday. And according to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the Buckeye star will be having an MRI soon to gauge the severity of the injury.

The current depth chart at running back in Dallas includes Elliott, Weber, Pollard, Jordan Chunn and Darius Jackson. But if the Cowboys opt to add another veteran to the mix as insurance, here are three unsigned free agent running backs that seem to make sense.

Jay Ajayi, RB

Only 25-years old, Ajayi has a 1,000-yard season under his belt, rushing for 1,272 yards and eight touchdowns as a 12-game starter for the Miami Dolphins back in 2016. He earned a Pro Bowl nod that same year. Ajayi also has a Super Bowl ring, earning it as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2017.

But there is a reason why the Boise State star fell to the fifth round of the 2015 draft. Medical concerns surrounding his knee, which was described as bone on bone at the time, forced Ajayi off many draft boards. But going into his fifth season in the NFL, the veteran back has performed well enough to deserve consideration as a primary backup. Although Ajayi is coming off an ACL tear.

Playing for the Cowboys would be a return home for Ajayi, who was a star at Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas. In Dallas, he’d be a perfect limited snaps complement to Elliott as a powerful rusher who has an impressive career average of 4.5 yards per carry.

Alfred Morris, RB

Morris is a former backup to Elliott who could return to Big D as he’s currently on the open market. The veteran running back, who played for the San Francisco 49ers in 2018, posted an impressive 111 rushing yard, one touchdown performance on just 16 carries in a Week 17 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in his last game.

Morris spent the previous two years with the Cowboys, famously filling in for Elliott during his six-game suspension back in 2017. During that span, the veteran back helped to lead Dallas to a 3-3 record without Zeke in the lineup.

A stellar locker room presence, it’s not hard to see why the Cowboys could be interested in bringing someone like Morris back into the fold as experienced insurance.

Karlos Williams, RB

Although Jay Ajayi may be the best fit in Dallas and Alfred Morris might be the safest choice, Karlos Williams is the wild card. A fifth-round selection by the Buffalo Bills back in 2015, the 6-foot-1, 230 pound Williams posted a stellar rookie season rushing for 517 yards and seven scores while averaging a whopping 5.6 yards per carry. That included a 76-yard, one touchdown performance in a Week 16 Victory over the Cowboys.

After his stellar rookie year, Williams was shockingly released by the Bills after returning to the team severely out of shape and having received a four-game suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He was picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers and spent time on their practice squad but his continued drug violations eventually suspended his career.

Williams was just reinstated by the NFL in February and is now searching for a second chance. Having just turned 26-years old and not having played in over two years, Karlos is the ultimate boom-or-bust candidate. But why not take an inexpensive flier on a potential star player if he is sincere about making the most of a second chance.