Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says he believes Darren McFadden’s version about what went down when he broke his elbow recently.
McFadden broke his elbow at home. He needed surgery to repair the injury and will miss at least two months and claims he incurred it trying to save his falling iPhone — his 21st career fumble.
When asked about McFadden’s version of events, Jones defended his running back and said there is no reason to believe his story is anything other than the truth. Though, he did mention that “if it were anybody else” he’d be suspicious, per the team website.
“He’s such a pro and has gained the respect that I take him just as he said it, that phone had to be saved. I accept that,” Jones said.
It isn’t hard to jump to conclusions about the validity of McFadden’s story. After all, being a millionaire, it’s hardly worth injuring oneself to save a phone. That said, perhaps there were other factors in play that caused him to use less than logical methods to determine his course of action.
What we do know is that McFadden’s injury is going to give rookie Ezekiel Elliott a chance to get more reps in during training camp next month. And that’s probably a really good thing for the Cowboys, and quarterback Tony Romo in particular. The Cowboys plan on running the ball a lot this season to protect Romo (more on that here), and Elliott will be a huge part of that plan.
Still, if McFadden can return to action quickly he should also be a factor in that equation. He rushed for 1,089 yards and caught 40 passes for 328 yards last year. The biggest key will be getting and staying healthy, which we all know has been a huge problem for the former Arkansas Razorback in the past.