{"id":20851,"date":"2025-01-21T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20851"},"modified":"2025-01-21T01:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T01:10:10","slug":"breaking-cowboys-cut-ties-with-4-time-pro-bowl-veteran-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20851","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Cowboys Cut Ties With 4-Time Pro Bowl Veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BREAKING:Cowboys former RB Dalvin Cook<\/p>\n

Even before the 2024\u00a0NFL\u00a0season started, there was ample concern among\u00a0Cowboys\u00a0fans and observers about the state of the team\u2019s running game. They\u2019d let\u00a0Tony Pollard\u00a0go in free agency and passed on a chance to pursue star back\u00a0Derrick Henry, who preferred to play in Dallas but signed with the Ravens.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys then let the NFL draft pass without picking a running back. Teams around the league had devalued the position, no doubt, but the Cowboys were blatantly ignoring it altogether, which seemed a bad idea. After the draft, they brought back veteran\u00a0Ezekiel Elliott\u00a0to pair with 2023 returnee\u00a0Rico Dowdle.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it all was a bad idea. Elliott showed himself to be washed up. Dowdle had a sold year, but took a while to get started and needs to work in tandem with a bruiser, which the Cowboys did not have on hand.<\/p>\n

But the Cowboys did have a running back of some reputation on the roster, at least on the practice squad. And despite some desperate times in the running game, the team never used him: four-time Pro Bowler\u00a0Dalvin Cook.<\/p>\n

Dalvin Cook Was Signed in August<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cook was signed just before the start of the season, and placed on the practice squad. Fans and media members eagerly awaited his arrival in the team\u2019s RB rotation, but it never came. Cook played just two games all season, with eight carries for 20 yards.<\/p>\n

One of the great mysteries remains: Why didn\u2019t Cook play more? What did the Cowboys have to lose by not putting him on the field?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all a moot point now. This week the Cowboys cut ties with Cook completely,\u00a0deleting him\u00a0from the team\u2019s practice squad. Cook, who is still just 29, might be washed up, but he will hit free agency and see if he can give himself a chance to prove otherwise.<\/p>\n

Cowboys\u2019 Running-Back Room Facing Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As for what\u2019s next in the Cowboys\u2019 running game, only two running backs are under contract\u2014Malik Davis and Deuce Vaughn. Davis is a practice-squadder, and Vaughn had just 17 carries for 70 yards last year. Dowdle is a free agent who has earned a raise, having rushed for 1,079 yards on the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

Whether the Cowboys would pay him that raise is another issue. Remember, they let Pollard fo on a\u00a0three-year, $21 million contract\u00a0after he rushed for 1,004 yards in 2023. Dowdle could be in line for a bigger payday.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a strong chance the Cowboys finally draft a running back. Boise State star Ashton Jeanty has been vocal about hoping that Dallas picks in, though the Cowboys would have to use the No. 12 overall pick to make that happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to play for the Cowboys,\u201d\u00a0Jeanty told Pat Doney of NBC. \u201cIt\u2019d be like a dream come true. Obviously, I used to play in their practice stadium, and all our home games in high school even my freshman year when we came down here for the Frisco Bowl, we practiced there again.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it would just feel like I\u2019m at home, honestly. I ain\u2019t going to say too much, but Dallas, they\u2019ve always had a good running back, and when they\u2019ve got a good running back, they play a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cowboys former RB Dalvin Cook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Cowboys Cut Ties With 4-Time Pro Bowl Veteran - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20851\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Cowboys Cut Ties With 4-Time Pro Bowl Veteran - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cowboys former RB Dalvin Cook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20851\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-21T01:10:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-1644602807-e17371217.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"439\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20851\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20851\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Cowboys Cut Ties With 4-Time Pro Bowl Veteran - 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