Last offseason, the Dallas Cowboys staged a reunion with former workhorse runner Ezekiel Elliott. The two-time NFL rushing champion spent 2023 in New England, but rejoined the Cowboys in 2024. It proved to be a sobering experience for the nine-year performer, and the team overall. Elliott played in 15 games, totaling only 74 carries for 226 yards and three scores.
Meanwhile, teammate Rico Dowdle had a breakout year. He ran for 1,079 yards and three touchdowns. Despite that, Dallas finished 27th in the league in rushing yards per game (100.3). Dowdle, who also caught 39 passes for 249 yards and three TDs, is now a member of the Carolina Panthers.
Let James Cook?
Writer Sterling Xie of Pro Football Sports Network suggested 32 players, one from each NFL team, who might be available in a trade. Some were certainly a stretch. Make up your own mind if two-time Pro Bowl running back James Cook might be one of those performers available in a deal. Xie does offer some context and logic in terms of his three fits. He mentions the Chicago Bears and New York Giants, however a deal with the Dallas Cowboys would be a reunion of sorts. First things first, and that’s in regards to the Buffalo Bills’ general manager.
“Brandon Beane has traditionally leaned on the draft to restock at running back. Beane drafted Devin Singletary to replace LeSean McCoy, and then drafted James Cook to replace Singletary. Now, with Cook entering the last year of his rookie contract, the Bills could be poised to repeat that cycle again. In fact, it’s possible they’ve already done so after drafting Ray Davis in the fourth round last year. In the lone game that Cook missed in 2024, Davis piled up 152 scrimmage yards and 0.31 EPA per play on Monday Night Football vs. the Jets…”
Dallas has a connection to Cook with Ken Dorsey,” added Xie, “a Cowboys assistant who was Cook’s offensive coordinator in Buffalo from 2022 until he was fired after Week 10 of the 2023 season.” Dorsey was hired back in February as a passing game specialist under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
The Cowboys have 10 picks at their disposal, seven of them on Day 3. There’s a pair of fives, two sixth-rounders, and three selections in the seventh round. If the Bills are to part ways with Cook, Dallas’s second-round choice (44th) or third-round selection (76th) would likely have to come into play.