Cowboys news: Rico Dowdle not expected to participate in minicamp following knee scope

Cowboys RB Injury: Rico Dowdle Losing Chance to Help Back Up Ezekiel Elliott?- Mike Fisher, Sports Illustrated

In a pivotal year for the running backs behind Pollard and Elliott, Dowdle will have to wait until training camp to showcase his abilities.

In our recent visit with Dallas Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, he mentioned why the club didn’t feel a great need to draft a running back.

Jones mentioned Ezekiel Elliott, of course.

And he mentioned Tony Pollard, of course.

And he made it a point to also put Rico Dowdle in the cluster.

Heady stuff for an undrafted kid who showed flashes last summer in the preseason before a season-ending hip injury was sustained in the third exhibition game.

And now Dowdle faces another challenge, as he’s reportedly been sidelined after a knee scope procedure performed earlier this offseason. No minicamp for him this week. No chance to show how he can provide both running back help and special-teams help.

No chance, it seems, until training camp in Oxnard.

And at that point? How many running backs will Dallas retain? JaQuan Hardy is in play, and undrafted rookies Malik Davis and Aaron Shampklin are on the roster, as is second-year prospect Nick Ralston, the Argyle fullback who this offseason has been one of those “at-The-Star-every-day’’ Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys DE Sam Williams learning from Micah Parsons ahead of rookie season- Raymond Lucas Jr, 247 Sports

Why not learn from last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year?

Ahead of his rookie season in the NFL, Sam Williams hasn’t been shy about leaning on others for guidance. The former Ole Miss and current Dallas Cowboys defensive end was chosen by “America’s Team” with the No. 56 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and finds himself learning from last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons.

“Micah has helped me out,” Williams said to reporters. “[He told me] I just need to terrify these guys and open pass-rushing lanes, things that I can do. Just start off with speed. Once they get used to your speed, then it’s like a chess match. Now they have to figure out what I am doing.”

While Williams — and Parsons for that matter — aspire to be legends in Dallas, the Ole Miss product is receiving training on how to get there by Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Cowboys great Charles Haley.

“It’s old school,” Williams said. “We did some work yesterday with my get-off and my hand work. So, it was pretty nice to work with someone like that.”

Cowboys LB Group Gets Even Thinner w/ Devante Bond’s Injury- Jess Haynie, Inside The Star

Jerry and Stephen Jones’ gamble of not addressing the LB position takes a slight hit.

The Cowboys aren’t exactly flush with depth right now at linebacker. With the position already thin due to existing health concerns from other players, Dallas has now lost veteran Devante Bond for the season after a major knee injury in last week’s practices.

Bond was a 6th-Round pick by Tampa Bay in 2016. He spent four seasons bouncing between the Bucs’ roster and practice squad, appearing in 29 games and starting six. He also spent some time with the Chicago Bears from 2019-2020.

The Cowboys signed Devante to their practice squad last December as they closed the season and prepared for the playoffs. He was re-signed in January to return and compete for a job.

Given his experience, Bond had a decent chance of making the team for at least the start of 2022. Right now your only locks to be on the active roster in Week One are Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, and Luke Gifford.

Jabril Cox is expected back, having just recently declared that he should be healthy for the start of training camp. The Cowboys’ exciting LB prospect suffered his own season-ending knee injury last October.

Which Cowboys undrafted rookie has the best chance to start Week 1?- Terence Watson, The Landry Hat

There might be a hidden gem in the 2022 UFA class, potentially including Greg Zuerlein’s successor.

Undrafted free agent kicker Jonathan Garibay may have the best chance of starting for the Cowboys in Week 1

Despite the talent of the above players, the reality is that the cornerback, safety, and center positions all currently have veterans in those roles. That’s why the one player who likely has the best chance of starting Week 1 is Texas Tech kicker Jonathan Garibay. The Cowboys currently do not have any other kicking options and Garibay’s college stats were far more impressive than some of the available free-agent options.

The Cowboys, at one point, did have two kickers on the roster that were going to fight for the role, but that all changed when Dallas released Chris Naggar back in May clearing the way for Garibay to win the starting role at kicker. There is a chance that the Cowboys do pick Naggar back up. The team stated that he was cut to make room on the roster. But, in all seriousness, people probably have more faith in Garibay than they would in Naggar. Naggar has incredibly minimal NFL experience and found it hard to stay on any roster.

As long as Garibay can stay healthy through camps and preseason games, he should have this job locked up.

PFF ranked Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott in top 10 in consensus deep passing evaluation- RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys

Well, would you look at that?

Speaking about throwing deep, recently PFF ranked quarterbacks by various deep-passing metrics and established an aggregate ranking of them. Dak Prescott came in at number seven.

7. DAK PRESCOTT, DALLAS COWBOYS

2021 Passing Grade: 94.5 | 2021 Yards per Attempt: 13.2 | 2021 Passer Rating: 104.4

Prescott earned a seventh-ranked 94.5 passing grade on his 73 deep attempts. He completed 32 of these attempts for 962 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions during the regular season.

We have seen Prescott connect deep often with Michael Gallup which is likely a huge reason for the team bringing the wide receiver back this offseason. There is obviously plenty of merit in the underneath stuff (so to speak), but being able to be accurate deep down the field can be quite the luxury among passers.

When it came to the aggregate ranking of all of PFF’s deep-passing metrics Prescott out-ranked the likes of Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, and Josh Allen. The way that Dallas’ season ended left a bitter taste in a lot of people’s mouths, but the Cowboys quarterback still ranks among the better ones in the league.

Countdown: Most Consistent Cowboys Player Ever?- Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com

Ninety-one days until the Cowboys season opener. Demarco Murray is familiar with the number 91.

The new season can’t get here fast enough. The schedule is officially out – placing the Cowboys against Tom Brady and the Bucs for Week 1 on Sept. 11 at AT&T Stadium.

Lots will happen between now and then, including another training camp in sunny Oxnard, Calif., along with three preseason games.

But it’s never too early to count down to the start of the season.

As the regular season is now within sight, we will celebrate the exact number that will count us down to the Sept. 11 opener.

Today, we will continue with 91 days to the start of the season.

Countdown | Play 91: DeMarco Murray TD Run

The Play: DeMarco Murray was supposed to just split carries with Tashard Choice, who actually started the game. But Murray ended up with a career day, sparked by a 91-yard run in the first quarter in which he was barely touched. Murray ripped off the second-longest run in franchise history. He eventually finished the day 253 yards, breaking the Cowboys’ single-game record and it still ranks tied for ninth in NFL history for most yards in a game.

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