There are undoubtedly a handful of former Dallas Cowboys who wish they still had the star on their helmets this season, aren't there? The grass isn't always greener on the other side for players who choose to leave, but the Dallas Cowboys have also had to make some difficult roster decisions to let guys go, and those decisions have resulted in the players struggling badly in their new spots.
At any rate, paying attention to how former Dallas Cowboys players are doing at their new stops is always interesting, but which players are failing in their new destinations?
Let's take a look at some former Cowboys across the NFL right now who are probably wishing they were back in Dallas...
Former Dallas Cowboys players failing on their new teams in 2023
1. Brett Maher, kicker
What's really crazy about Brett Maher failing miserably in 2023 is that it all started in last year's postseason. This is a veteran kicker, in a league where kickers were in high demand all offseason, who made over 90 percent of his regular season field goals last year. He made 90.6 percent of his field goals, to be exact, including a 60-yard bomb. He was 9-of-11 from 50 and beyond.
And it took Maher almost the entire offseason to get any gig in the first place. He finally landed with the Denver Broncos in a kicking competition, which he had seemingly "won". The Broncos, though, cut Maher after they made a trade for Sean Payton's old Saints kicker Wil Lutz.
Maher landed on his feet with the Los Angeles Rams, but was also cut by the Rams after making 17-of-23 attempts including just 3-of-7 from 50-plus.
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2. Cedrick Wilson, WR (Dolphins)
I think it's at least a little unfair to say that Cedrick Wilson is "miserably failing" on his new team, the Miami Dolphins, because the Dolphins have had a lot of team success and look like a true contender in the AFC.
And Wilson is in his second season in Miami, but his playing time for the Dolphins has been extremely limited.
The Dolphins almost undoubtedly didn't plan on Tyreek Hill becoming available in the 2022 offseason, but that trade really put Wilson in a tough spot. The Dolphins had already signed him to a pretty substantial contract to come in and be part of the Mike McDaniel offense, but we haven't really gotten the chance to see that vision unfold.
Wilson has just nine receptions this year, although he's made the most of his chances, averaging 16.4 yards per catch with a pair of touchdowns. But he left Dallas with the idea that he would become a much bigger part of the offense wherever he went, and that simply hasn't happened in Miami. Over the course of two seasons, Wilson has just 33 total targets and 21 total receptions.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys probably could have used Wilson at their receiver position over the last two seasons as trading away Amari Cooper has been a puzzle the Cowboys haven't really figured out. At least, not until they played the Giants this past weekend...
Ezekiel Elliott, RB (Patriots)
This one is tough not only for Cowboys fans, but also undoubtedly for Jerry Jones as well. I think letting go of Ezekiel Elliott was one of the toughest things Jerry Jones has had to do in a long time, especially because we know how much Jones both loved Elliott and hates moving on from his own first-round picks.
But that decision, financially speaking, had to be made. The Cowboys needed the cap savings and Elliott had become expendable with his level of play in recent years.
And he sat in free agency for quite some time. The running back market was extremely stale over the course of the offseason, even when it featured some really big names like Elliott, Dalvin Cook, and Leonard Fournette. But Elliott finally did get a job with the New England Patriots, a team whose running back room has been a lot like a Baskin Robbins through the years.
There's 31 flavors and the Patriots never really stick with just one of them.
Elliott has just 331 rushing yards in 10 games this season and just two touchdowns. The Patriots' offense, meanwhile, has looked like one of the worst in the league. Unfortunately for the former Cowboys first-round pick, it looks like this will be a pretty clear one-and-done situation.
4. Randall Cobb, WR (Jets)
I think at this point, it's safe to say that just about everyone who joined the New York Jets' offense in 2023 has been a miserable failure.
The injury to Aaron Rodgers was not in his power to control, but everything that has transpired in New York since that injury has been one of the hardest things to witness in the NFL this season. And by hard to witness, I of course mean that most of us would rather be stepping on LEGO blocks than watching the New York Jets' offense for any period of time.
New York's passing game is non-existent. They are the Iowa Hawkeyes of the NFL, and a special shoutout to anyone who is reading this and that statement resonates with.
Unfortunately, former Dallas Cowboys receiver Randall Cobb is part of the you-know-what show going on in New York, catching just three passes for 20 yards in six games this season. I'm not sure how hard you can really be on Cobb here because of the combination of his age and the incompetence of Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, but it's safe to say that things haven't worked out for Cobb (or anyone) with the Jets this season.
5. Carlos Watkins, defensive lineman (Cardinals)
One of the deepest parts of the Dallas Cowboys' roster is their defensive front. This is a unit that is enviable when you look across the league and how the Cowboys can bring wave after wave of pass rush on any given week.
Against the New York Giants, we saw six different Cowboys players combine for seven QB hits on Giants rookie Tommy Devito, and we saw five different players notch a sack. And none of them were Micah Parsons in this particular game.
The Cowboys have such a deep defensive line, and they obviously made some changes to try and upgrade the run defense in 2023 by drafting Mazi Smith in the first round out of Michigan. But before that selection was made, the Cowboys made the decision to move on from free agent Carlos Watkins, who signed a modest one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency.
Watkins was a starter for Dallas in 2021 and a significant rotational player in 2022, racking up 58 total tackles and seven tackles for loss in his two seasons with Dallas.
Unfortunately, his time with the Arizona Cardinals has been stifled by a biceps injury. Watkins landed on IR as of Week 3 after playing just two games for the Cardinals to open this season.