With the preseason coming to a close on Thursday, nearly half of the roster the Cowboys carried during those four games saw their time with the team end over the weekend. With final cuts made, we now know who will be playing where when the Giants come to town next Sunday.
There were, as usual, some surprise moves made. Many expected that Dallas would carry three traditional running backs, in addition to fullback Jamize Olawale on their final 53 man roster. Instead, neither Darius Jackson, Mike Weber, nor Jordan Chunn made the final cut, as each was waived on Saturday afternoon.
This leaves just rookie Tony Pollard and veteran Alfred Morris to hold down the fort at running back.
Oh, and yeah, that Ezekiel Elliott guy. The All Pro worthy running back who is currently holding out for a new contract from Dallas. Zeke doesn’t count against the Cowboys’ roster just yet as he has not reported to the team, but Dallas deciding to go so light at the position could signal his arrival will come sooner rather than later.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported this weekend that talks between the Cowboys and Elliott were “intensifying,” which gave all of Cowboys Nation some serious hope that a deal would get done. Still, outside of that one single report, there hasn’t been much movement on a deal as of late.
If Dallas needed to play their season opener today, they’d do so with just 2 running backs. One of them being a rookie who saw a pretty limited role in college, and may not be able to withstand the punishment that the Cowboys gameplan often puts Elliott through.
Maybe this means the Cowboys completely trust Tony Pollard. Maybe it means they are nearing a deal with Ezekiel Elliott. Or maybe it means Kellen Moore is going to let Dak Prescott sling it on Sunday.
Cowboys fans should hope it’s a combination of all three.
