Outside Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle has the longest stay with Dallas in this newly formed running back room.
Dowdle’s efforts have yet to succeed in redirecting the headlines toward himself.
Instead, other players such as second-year running back Malik Davis, free agent signee Ronald Jones, and recent draft pick Deuce Vaughn have been the focus of attention.
He has had his ups and downs after signing as an undrafted free agent from South Carolina.
Now, something needs to shake.
Will he throw his hat in the ring and become a contender for the second running back role?
Time will tell, but one thing is sure – it’s now or never for the former Gamecock.
Dallas Coaches see something that we don’t
In his rookie season, Rico did the unimaginable. He made the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent.
He sat behind Pollard and starter Ezekiel Elliott in the back of the line. Grabbing some mop-up duty and special teams was his calling card.
Now, after back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, the Dallas Cowboys decided to bring him back on a 1-year deal.
Rico has no guarantees whatsoever. It’s possible that this move is merely to fill a spot in preparation for training camp.
But what if it is more than that?
Malik Davis came aboard as an undrafted player from Florida in 2022, but Dowdle caught our interest two years prior.
He showed us burst, good vision in preseason games and finished each run strong.
During the 2021 preseason, his 4.5 average yard per carry was impressive, not to mention his 25-yard run with his back against the endzone versus the Pittsburg Steelers.
Rico is attempting to pick up where he left off. If not for the hip injury in 2021, he would be the third running back.
Again in 2022, only the ankle injury derailed his comeback during the season and left the door slightly ajar for Davis.
He has been in that running back room with Pollard for the last three years. They’ve built a solid rapport.
The cherry on top is Dallas can hit two birds with one stone. Rico plays special teams; the last time I checked, Ronald Jones did not.
While it’s not a glamorous choice, the shock effect should be minimal if Dowdle grabs the RB2 spot.
New versions of Dowdle may have the hearts of Cowboys fans
Here is where it gets tricky for Rico.
Jones isn’t the person that should concern him. It’s the two guys that are at the moment behind him.
Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn are fan favorites, if even the latter has yet to play an NFL down.
This scenario is no different than getting a new toy. We’ve seen what the old guy can do.
Malik now exhibits the same burst, speed, and strong finishes as we observed in Dowdle.
The imagination runs rampant when thinking about the plays for Vaughn.
Training camps, joint practices, and preseason games will be critical.
It’s a razor-thin margin between the guys competing for the 2nd running back spot.
A costly fumble or a missed block in the backfield can change the trajectory of their entire offseason.
Rico must impress early and often to get the coaching staff’s attention and reconnect with the fan base.
Granted, Head Coach Mike McCarthy was in charge when Dowdle was signed, but Running Backs Coach Skip Peete exited stage right.
Having that person who trusts you and will be your champion when cuts occur may also play a part.
Rico Dowdle is going to have his time in the sun. Will he get a nice tan or aggravating sunburn?
The jury is still out.
With that backup running back spot wide open, this has to be his year to claim it.
Otherwise, the journeyman’s travels that most running backs succumb to will undoubtedly begin.
Practice squad at best!
Shawn Lawther Rico beat out Davis last year. It wasnt until injury that Davis got called up from the PS..
Brian Broddous said the problem the Davis is a little attitude, me type guy. He put himself in the dog house with the coaches last year but we will see how it works out this year
Todd Cook with Deuce basically being handed RB2 job, big competition will ensue between Davis and Dowdle! Don’t forget, UDFA fullback Hunter Luepke is almost a guarantee to make the final 53 too! Davis and Dowdle will both probably head to the practice squad and get called up if Pollard or Deuce sustain injury!
I’m pretty sure Deuce wasn’t handed the RB2 job, he was a 6th round pick, so at best he’s guaranteed a spot on the 53 man roster!! And that’s only cause the front office wants to get all of their drafted players on the roster!! And I’m pretty sure Luepke isn’t guaranteed a roster spot either!! The only one guaranteed a roster is Pollard, with Deuce having a good chance at making it!! But there needs to be a RB that’s good in pass protection too, and it needs to be either RB1 or RB2 that can handle it, or it’ll be a dead giveaway to the defense that it’s gonna be a pass, and the last time I checked Pollard isn’t really good at that, and there’s no way Deuce can handle it…. So since Pollard is RB1, RB2 will end up being a player that can run the ball and is good in pass protection and the only ones that are good at both that’s on the team right now are Ronald Jones and Malik Davis!! So I think it’ll be one of those 2 that’ll be RB2!! That’s one bad thing about not having Zeke on the team…. There was nobody better than him in pass protection!! But now that he’s gone somebody else will have to step up and get the job done, and like I said, I think Jones or Davis are the only ones that can handle it!!
The running back competition in training camp is going to be interesting ! Only thing i know for sure is that Tony Pollard will be number one on the depth chart. How they rank on the depth chart after that will be interesting . I think Vaughan and Jones will be number two and three . That leaves Dowdle battling with Davis and Luepke for the fourth spot . We can’t keep everybody . Somebody could go to the practice squad too .
Daniel Deschenes how are you doing
Steve Wilds how are you doing
Camp body, finally some fresh legs without zeke!
In three years Dowdle has carried the ball 7 times and earned $1.9M. That’s over $270,00 per carry! He’s on the books for a $1M cap hit in ’23. Talk about wasted money. The guy can’t stay healthy and to trust him to be RB2 would be fool hearty. Davis has the same skill set as Pollard, showed promise last year and is an obvious Pollard cheap replacement in ’24. Keeping Dowdle would be a waste of a roster spot and money.