Could Mike Weber’s injury move the Cowboys to sign this free agent running back?

By no means is it time to panic, but when an opportunity presents itself, the Cowboys front office may want to strike. In the opening week of rookie-minicamp, seventh-round pick Mike Weber suffered a knee injury that required an MRI and raised concern about surgery. While the reports sound a bit more optimistic, there should still be some concern regarding Weber and his injured knee.

Weber was drafted out of Ohio State to, hopefully, be the true backup running back behind Ezekiel Elliott, with Tony Pollard being used in a variety of roles on offense and special teams. Weber has some similar traits to Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys were big fans of his leading into the draft. With Weber likely sidelined for a while, and the threat of a scope and/or surgery looming, could the Cowboys front office turn to the free agent pool to add a running back to the carousel?

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

One possibility is Jay Ajayi. Ajayi, 25, has had a very productive career with the Dolphins and Eagles carrying the football 562 times, for 2,516 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. But, similar to Weber, Ajayi has his fair share of injury concerns that have left teams wondering how long he can live up to standards of a big free agent contract. That in itself has driven Ajayi’s price tag down significantly. Like always, if you’re available after the draft as a free agent, you’ll likely end up settling for a much less money than you may have thought heading into free agency.

Ajayi played his college football at Boise State, which is a school the Cowboys have many ties to when drafting players out of college. Along with his ties to Boise State, Ajayi would bring an every down threat to the offense that could complement Elliott’s bruising style of play. With it being this late in the offseason, and given his injury history, Ajayi would be looking to land a one-year prove it deal that would likely be on the cheaper end of the spectrum. This would be the perfect scenario for the Cowboys to add an ultra-talented back that has struggled to remain on the field. The team wouldn’t need him to carry the workload but just be productive in the five-ten carries he received in a game. It would seem to be a win-win for both sides.