Vincent Frank
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones leads a front office that pulled off two separate blockbuster trades during the offseason, acquiring Pro Bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore and 1,000-yard receiver Brandin Cooks for pennies on the dollar.
Jones has never been afraid to pull off that earth-shattering trade as his Cowboys attempt to earn their first Super Bowl appearance since January of 1996.
Does this means the Cowboys have interest in Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor? It doesn’t seem likely at this point. But Jones didn’t completely close the door on the possibility.
“I look at every opportunity. But the way our young backs are playing, I am very comfortable where we are with our backs right now. I feel good about our running back position if we didn’t add anybody,” Jerry Jones told reporters on Tuesday.
Taylor, 24, was just given permission to seek a trade by the Colts after requesting to be dealt earlier in the summer. The drama in Indianapolis stems from his status as an impending free agent following the 2023 season and owner Jim Irsay’s recent comments about paying running backs. At this point, this position seems to be loaded in Big D.
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Dallas Cowboys depth chart at running back
Jones and Co. released longtime RB1 Ezekiel Elliott early in the offseason. Dallas is handing that role over to franchise-tagged Pro Bowler Tony Pollard, who is set to earn $10.09 million in 2023.
The former fourth-round pick from Memphis fractured his left fibula in Dallas’ NFC Divisional Playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He’ll be good to go for Week 1 and put up a stellar 2022 season for Dallas (1,378 total yards, 12 TD).
Dallas also has youngsters Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis who could be prepared to take on larger roles during the 2023 season. This doesn’t even take into account the presence of 5-foot-6 rookie sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn. He’s been absolutely brilliant in training camp and during the preseason. The Kansas State product has put up 64 yards and two touchdowns on 13 preseason rush attempts.
While any team would love to have Taylor in the mix, it makes very little sense for Dallas to exhaust the capital in terms of what Indianapolis is asking for in return and a long-term extension for the 2021 rushing champion.
