Dallas Cowboys: Christine Michael needs to return to Texas

ByStephen Forsha|

The Dallas Cowboys, whether they know it or not, are making a huge mistake by not having Seattle Seahawks running back Christine Michael on their roster.

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The Cowboys need to trade for the running back who is buried on the depth chart of Seattle, with the signing of Fred Jackson and having Marshawn Lynch already in place. Or, if he is released, they need to swoop in there and sign the running back and give him the opportunity to succeed.

In Seattle, there is just no room for Michael to have the proper opportunity, but if the Cowboys were to ever gain the services of the former Texas A&M product, I believe he’d upgrade the current Cowboys running back roster tremendously.

In his two seasons with the Seahawks, Michael has just 52 carries for 254 yards, with a career yards per carry average of 4.9, including last season where in 34 carries he totaled 175 yards for 5.1 yards per carry.

The Seahawks must have at one time seen something in the running back because he was selected 62nd overall in ’13 by that franchise, but to be honest, playing behind Lynch, who is arguably a Top 3 running back in the NFL, Michael wasn’t going to get the full opportunity needed to succeed in Pete Carroll’s offense.

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With this being the start of his third NFL season, Michael is basically a rookie when it comes to production and usage in the league, and looking at the current Cowboys roster of Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar, I believe he could leapfrog any of those three and be the main back in Big D.

For his NFL career, McFadden has averaged 4.1 yards per carry in 83 games, and though that’s a solid number, he’s only played in a 16-game season once.

Randle is kind of in the same boat as Michael, also being a ’13 draft choice (fifth round, 151st overall) playing in a reserve role his entire career. In 29 games, Randle has been averaging 4.8 yards per carry on 105 career rushing attempts. Last season, in 16 games (51 carries), Randle totaled 343 yards and 6.7 yards per carry.

Here is a video of the 5-10, 220-pound Michael while at Texas A&M:

With Michael, he does have a good burst of speed in his arsenal, and he doesn’t try to anything too fancy when he has the football. In his two seasons with Seattle, Michael has just one fumble, that coming last season.

This player needs a proper chance to succeed in the NFL, and Dallas is the perfect fit, because we are less than two weeks away from the start of the football regular season, and truth be told, I’m not sold on any of the current backs on the Cowboys roster to do enough to make a huge impact.

I know it was at the collegiate level (and he did have a broken leg and a torn ACL, plus at times played in a Johnny Manziel offense while with the Aggies), but when given the chance to run the football, Michael produced.

For his career, he finished with yards per carry averages of 5.1 (166 carries), 5.0 (126), 6.0 (149) and 4.7 (88) with Texas A&M, with a career collegiate touchdown total of 34.

Those aren’t bad numbers at all, and looking back to his NFL Draft scouting report, it does speak highly of his abilities on the football field, though he did have some troubles off the field as well.

Dec 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Christine Michael (33) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 35-6. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Mayock of NFL.com said this of Michael in 2013:

"“He’s the most gifted tailback in this class, albeit troubled. He’s had off-field issues and got in Kevin Sumlin’s doghouse, which is why he slipped. But if he stays straight, boy is he gifted.”"

But in an NFL.com scouting report, no author listed, Michael was compared to current New York Jets running back Chris Ivory:

"“Scouts like Michael’’s blend of low-center of gravity power and speed in exactly the same way that opposing defense don’’t; but he must stay healthy to fulfill his promise after managing to play.”"

Once all of this is said and done, I would really like to see the Cowboys try and gain the serves of Michael, just to see if they can make this running game better. I keep saying I’m not 100-percent sold on the current group of backs on the roster, and even if I was, Michael would make the team better in my opinion, and that’s what is most important this season.

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