Dallas Cowboys: 53-man roster prediction after Preseason Week 1
By Randy Gurzi
Running Back (4): Ezekiel Elliott, Alfred Morris, Tony Pollard, Jamize Olawale
As of now, the Dallas Cowboys rubbing back situation is looking somewhat bleak. That’s due to the fact that Ezekiel Elliott is currently holding out and off working by himself in Cabo. With that being the case, they added Alfred Morris, who played well for them in 2017 while Zeke was suspended for six games.
His presence gives them a player they trust should the holdout continue, but it likely won’t. Reports suggest the team and Elliott are far apart but they seem to usually find a way to make players happy, it just never happens when we expect it to. Zeke will most likely get paid, or at least that’s the sense right now.
The third running back is Tony Pollard, a rookie who brings a different style to the backfield. A speedster from Memphis, Pollard can line up at receiver, play in the backfield, and return kicks. He’s going to be a valuable player even if he doesn’t get a lot of traditional running back snaps as a rookie. He looked sharp in the preseason but they still would likely prefer to get Zeke back — even though they’re puffing their chests about Pollard.
Jamize Olawale returns after signing a long term deal and will be the primary fullback. He can also hurt teams as a receiver out of the backfield and it will be interesting to see if new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore can take advantage of that.
Absent from this list is rookie Mike Weber. With Morris back, they don’t keep a second rookie but there’s a chance he could wind up on the practice squad.