Dallas Cowboys: Will RB situation be a disaster in 2015?

By Stephen Forsha | Aug 12, 2015

I’m all for the Dallas Cowboys using more than one running back to carry the load in 2015, but with the way things are looking thus far in training camp, will any of them be able to stay on the field this season?

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Going into Thursday’s preseason game at the San Diego Chargers, the Cowboys will be starting rookie Gus Johnson at the No. 1 running back spot with Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle, the two hopefuls to take over as the main backs, most likely watching from the sidelines. Even Lance Dunbar is injured with a sprained ankle.

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Since neither one of them are the second coming of Emmitt Smith, it would be nice if those two running backs could stay on the field, but injuries happen. My worry is neither one of them will be able to hold up to the 16-game NFL slate at the pace the Cowboys will need them to be at when the games actually count.

This week, Randle hurt his oblique in practice, while McFadden has yet to practice all training camp due to his hamstring injury.

According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, he wrote the following about the injury of Randle this week:

"“Randle, who has been the lead running back since training camp opened, has a slight oblique strain and was held out of the rest of practice after going through a small portion of individual drills. He was examined by head athletic trainer Jim Maurer and did not take another turn in practice.”"

I’m not all that worried about the preseason games, but even when all of the backs do return, what are the guarantees they stay healthy? With the offensive line of the Cowboys, it won’t take the world’s greatest running back to rush the football for the team, but the players they do have must stay on the field, and right now they aren’t showing they are able this camp.

With three running backs on the mend, it looks as though the two main backs on this team right now are Johnson (an undrafted rookie) and Lache Seastrunk.

Conor Orr of NFL.com wrote this of Johnson:

"“Owner Jerry Jones would like nothing more than to see Johnson seize the moment, helping him erase some of the early doubts on McFadden and Randle as they come back from their respective hamstring and oblique injuries.”"

That is what this camp is about for the running backs … seizing the moment, and just from the looks of the depth chart and injury report, nobody on the running back roster has yet to “seize the moment.” Let’s hope for the sake of the Cowboys, this running back by committee experiment won’t be a disaster, but being on the more worrisome side of thinking the look of the running backs this offseason could be a bit better.

Next: Jets: What happens without Geno Smith?

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