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Dallas Cowboys: Alfred Morris a great fit in free agency

By Nick Ziegler

Jan 3, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy (16) hands off to running back Alfred Morris (46) during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Redskins defeat the Cowboys 34-23. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy (16) hands off to running back Alfred Morris (46) during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Redskins defeat the Cowboys 34-23. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Dallas Cowboys had a poor season in 2015 mainly because of injuries to Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.

This upcoming season, the Cowboys will likely be a much better team with a healthy Romo and Bryant, but improvements still need to be made. In 2014, DeMarco Murray was a workhorse for the Cowboys, as he had a career-year before leaving for the Philadelphia Eagles. In his final season with the Cowboys, Murray totaled 1,845 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, 57 receptions, and 416 receiving yards.

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The production from Murray was never going to be truly replaced by one player in Dallas last season, but they hoped that the combination of Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden would make up for most of what Murray left behind.

Randle was great as a backup for Murray in 2014, but in struggled in 2015 in his expanded role. Playing poorly on the field and causing trouble off of it led to Randle being cut by the Cowboys. With Randle off of the team, all of the work at running back was placed on the shoulders of McFadden. In his career, McFadden has certainly been a talented player, but his inability to stay healthy has been a huge knock.

Last season, McFadden totaled 1,089 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 40 receptions, and 328 receiving yards. McFadden being able to stay healthy was huge for the Cowboys’ offense last season, as even with no production from the quarterback position, they were able to stay in games.

While McFadden will be the featured back in 2016, the Cowboys could certainly use a solid backup with the injury history. On Monday, the Cowboys will be bringing in a running back that they are very familiar with, as Alfred Morris will be visiting the team.

In his career, Morris has totaled 4,713 rushing yards, 29 rushing touchdowns, and a 4.4 yards per carry average. Morris took the NFL by storm along with Robert Griffin III in 2012, as the rookie running back totaled 1,613 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, and 4.8 yards per carry average.

Morris continued to play well in his second season, as he totaled 1,275 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, and a 4.6 yards per carry average. In his third season, Morris began to see his numbers drop, as he totaled 1,074 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns, and a 4.1 yards per carry average. The first three seasons for Morris were certainly very good for a sixth-round pick, who gave Washington some excellent production.

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Last season was easily the worst in the career of Morris, as he only totaled 202 carries, 751 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. The down season has certainly hurt the value for Morris in free agency this season, but the Cowboys do appear to be a great fit on paper.

In recent years, Dallas has built a great offensive line that can create holes for running backs, and they like to establish their running game to set up their play-action passing attack. The meeting will take place on Monday, and we may see the backfield for Dallas get a nice upgrade

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