The Cowboys made a signing on Monday, at long last. They brought in new running back Javonte Williams from the Broncos, after Williams piled up 2,394 yards in four uneven seasons with Denver.
It’s hard to say what the Cowboys will do with the running back spot from here, but adding Williams on a one-year, $3 million contract probably is the extent the team will go for a position that has gained more value in the past year in just about everyone’s eyes–except the Cowboys.
Dallas is likely to address the running back spot in the upcoming NFL draft, with Williams being a fallback No. 1 option. What seems clear after the first two weeks of NFL free agency is that team owner Jerry Jones and his son, EVP Stephen Jones, won’t be paying top dollar for running backs.
Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
That includes their own, Rico Dowdle. Last season, Dowdle started off as just a member of a running back committee but soon blossomed into the clear lead back. He finished with 1,079 yards on 4.6 yards per carry.
He had 677 yards on 142 attempts in Dallas’s last seven games. He was clearly the team’s top playmaker out of the backfield.
And yet, in what would be a wild and unbelievable turn with most franchises, as free agency is set to become official in two days, the Cowboys are not speaking to Dowdle. As good as Dowdle was in 2024, the Cowboys don’t much seem to care.
“We were talking at this time last year about this whole running back by committee, it didn’t work,” NFL Network’s Jane Slater said on Monday. “Rico Dowdle is now a free agent, we’ll see where he lands … It doesn’t sound like there have been any meaningful discussions as it relates to Rico Dowdle right now. The Cowboys absolutely have to figure out their running back situation.”
Indeed, Williams is probably not the last word on the Cowboys running back room. But if they’re not willing to pay Dowdle, either, they could be back to a committee-style running game, and we saw how that panned out last season.