FRISCO, Texas -- Last season, Dallas Cowboys running backs combined for 1,425 yards and nine touchdowns on 370 carries.
Tony Pollard took 252 of those carries along with 1,005 yards and six touchdowns with him to the Tennessee Titans as an unrestricted free agent.
Re-signed to a one-year deal, Rico Dowdle is the Cowboys' leading returning running back after rushing for 361 yards and two touchdowns on 89 carries in 2023. The others? Deuce Vaughn had 23 carries for 40 yards. Hunter Luepke, a fullback, had six carries for 19 yards and a touchdown. That's it. Malik Davis spent most of the season on the practice squad and did not have a carry last season, but he had 38 for 161 yards and a touchdown in 2022.
"We're not done with that room by any means, whether it's a veteran or there is a draft pick," coach Mike McCarthy told reporters at the recent annual league meeting. "Signing Rico back was important. He was someone who was part of the one-two rotation last year, so we feel good about him."
The Cowboys wanted to keep Pollard but would not go to the three-year, $21.75 million deal that could max out at $24 million he got from the Titans. Free agent Derrick Henry wasn't an option. Neither were Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs or D'Andre Swift.
After previously paying top-of-the-market amounts at running back for Ezekiel Elliott and Pollard, the Cowboys have changed directions.
Now they are hoping to prove that teams can, indeed, find running backs anywhere.
The Cowboys have the fifth-fewest 2023 rushing yards by running backs returning for 2024, but the four teams ahead of them have addressed the position. The New York Giants (70 yards) lost Barkley but signed Devin Singletary. The Los Angeles Chargers (102 yards) lost Austin Ekeler but signed Gus Edwards. The Cincinnati Bengals (260 yards) traded Joe Mixon but signed Zack Moss. The Eagles (364 yards) lost Swift but added Barkley.
The Cowboys have yet to make an addition.
The Cowboys' current path is almost akin to 2003 following the release of Emmitt Smith after Bill Parcells' arrival. Troy Hambrick was their No. 1 running back, but even he had more carries than what the Cowboys' currently have. A year later, the Cowboys signed Eddie George as a free agent and drafted Julius Jones in the second round.
"I think we're having to make some tough decisions right now," executive vice president Stephen Jones said. "This is an organization that's been built on great backs, whether it's Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, Emmitt Smith, Ezekiel Elliott or Tony Pollard. We're big believers in backs. They bring a lot to the table. Unfortunately, we're at a point where we have to make some decisions in terms of where we allocate dollars."
One of the top goals for the Cowboys is to get better in the running game in 2024. They finished 14th in the NFL with 112.9 yards per game, which was their second-worst ranking in the past 11 seasons. To get better this season, they will have to do it without free agent departures left tackle Tyron Smith, center Tyler Biadasz and Pollard, while working in an inexperienced -- at the moment -- backfield.
In free agency, the Cowboys can still look to veterans such as Dalvin Cook, who had a disappointing run with the New York Jets last season before ending up with the Baltimore Ravens in January, or J.K. Dobbins, who has played in nine games the past three years because of knee and Achilles injuries. And sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler over the weekend that the Cowboys and Elliott have mutual interest in a reunion. Maybe one of them could do what Darren McFadden did in 2015.
That year, the Cowboys initially looked to Joseph Randle as their starter after DeMarco Murray left via free agency following a season in which he led the league in rushing and set a team record with 1,845 yards. Randle proved unreliable and McFadden, the former No. 4 overall pick in 2008, ran for 1,089 yards.
The Cowboys finished 4-12 that season and had the No. 4 overall pick, which they used on Elliott.
Elliott ran for a team rookie record and NFL-leading 1,631 yards in his first season. After being suspended six games in 2017, Elliott once again led the league in rushing in 2018 (1,434 yards). He signed his $90 million extension in 2019 and had 1,357 yards but was unable to sustain that pace and was released after the 2022 season. By that time, Pollard had shown he was an explosive back, and his usage was upped each season from 2019 to 2021 before his first 1,000-yard season in 2022, when he was named to the Pro Bowl.
Pollard was a fourth-round pick and was allowed to work into more of a rotation. The last time a non-first-rounder led the Cowboys in rushing as a rookie, it was Murray in 2011 when he had 897 yards. The top three rushers in team history -- Smith, Tony Dorsett and Elliott -- were first-round picks.
Given how the Cowboys have used free agency, they may need a rookie to be their lead back in 2024. Texas' Jonathon Brooks is considered the top back in the draft, but he is coming off a torn right ACL suffered in November. While he is expected to be ready for Week 1, will he be at full strength and need time to get adjusted to the speed of the NFL game?
Could Trey Benson, Jaylen Wright, Bucky Irving, Blake Corum or any other running back become RB1 as a rookie? Last season, Atlanta's Bijan Robinson was the No. 8 overall pick and led all rookies with 976 rushing yards.
McCarthy believes the second year with him as the playcaller, Jeff Blasko as run game coordinator and Mike Solari as offensive line coach will blend the run game better than a year ago.
"We have a very young running back room right now, [but] I think it's obvious that we'll continue to look to add but, yeah, it's about opportunity," McCarthy said. "We put more on [the running backs'] plate last year than the prior years. I thought they responded very well. Tony Pollard led the charge there, so now it'll be important for someone to step up in that room from a leadership role, and I hope all those young guys take a piece of that."