Why star NFL running backs have been devalued: What’s next – Bill Barnwell, ESPN

Bill Barnwell goes deep dive into running backs and contracts, and gives some reasons why teams aren’t paying the likes of Ezekiel Elliott.

Other teams could consider a rotation player — the Dolphins, Rams, Bengals or Ravens make sense — but there’s no team in desperate need of a starter. Even if they were, they would be able to play these four backs against one another, which would keep their potential earnings down. If Cook or Elliott wanted to sign tomorrow for the minimum and just wanted to be in a training camp, they would have no trouble landing a job. Given the landscape and the paucity of openings, it’s tough for them to land meaningful money.

The threat of being in that market is also squeezing backs on rosters. Aaron Jones took a pay cut earlier this summer to save his roster spot and avoid hitting this market. There are suggestions the Bengals might be willing to pressure Joe Mixon into taking a pay cut under the threat of replacing him with a free agent.

The best thing might actually be for them to wait. The ugly inevitability of football is that running backs will go down with injuries in training camp and during the preseason. When that opening comes, these players will have an opportunity to land a more meaningful opportunity from teams that will be more desperate.

Training camp battles: Which Cowboys are in for a fight this summer? – WFAA Dallas, Ben Grimaldi

Questions will be answered soon, and some goodbyes may need to happen unfortunately.

In just a couple of weeks, training camp for the Dallas Cowboys will be underway and the fun begins for the 2023 season. The offseason is all but complete and the fight for the initial 53-man roster will be ratched up in earnest.

Most roster spots on the Cowboys are likely spoken for, but camp and preseason games should determine those last few players to make the team and settle the depth chart.

Here are the best position battles to look out for when the Cowboys arrive in Oxnard, California:

Third CB: DaRon Bland vs. Jourdan Lewis

The Cowboys found themselves with a steal in Bland, a fifth-round selection in the 2022 draft. Bland was tied for second in the league with five interceptions as a rookie, despite playing in only a little over half of the team’s defensive snaps. Ironically, it was Lewis’ foot injury that opened the door for Bland to play more and he didn’t disappoint.

Lewis has been one of the more underrated slot corners since being drafted as a third-round pick in 2017. With eight interceptions over his first six seasons, Lewis is second to CB Trevon Diggs in picks for the defense since entering the league. Lewis is also a willing tackler at CB, a solid trait in coordinator Dan Quinn’s system.

20 Questions: 8) Who Will Be Cowboys’ Week 1 Kicker? – DallasCowboys.com, Staff Writers

Predictions from the mothership.

Patrik Walker: I don’t know that they’re on this roster right now. Tristan Vizcaino got the first crack at the job in OTAs and mandatory minicamp and he acquitted himself well, but the Cowboys are expected to add another boot at some point before camp concludes. With names like Mason Crosby and Robbie Gould still out there for grabs, it’s entirely possible one of them (or someone we’re not thinking of right now) gets flown out to Oxnard and challenges for the job. If so, Vizcaino will have his work cut out for him.

Kurt Daniels: A former soccer player, Brandon Aubrey’s pro football experience has come helping the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions to back-to-back titles while making 32 of 37 field goals and 57 of 59 extra points over those two seasons. Tristan Vizcaino has kicked in the NFL, but having had less success – good on 11 of 12 field goals and 15 of 20 extra point tries – Aubrey appears the favorite for Week 1 duties. Regardless, whoever wins will likely have a short leash. For a team in win-now mode, there will be some veteran kickers available if the Cowboys decide a change is needed.

Mike McCarthy’s history suggests Cowboys could pursue this out-of-favor veteran RB – The Landry Hat, Jerry Trotta

Number two is still up for grabs, either purposefully or just by happenstance.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before since mid-March, but the Dallas Cowboys haven’t identified a clearcut No. 2 running back behind Tony Pollard.

The Cowboys cut Ezekiel Elliott at the start of the new league year and turned around and gave Elliott’s No. 21 jersey to Stephon Gilmore, which should mute any speculation about a potential reunion.

Given Mike McCarthy’s history as a head coach, though, Falcons’ jack-of-all-trades specialist Cordarrelle Patterson might be the best fit.

The Cowboys should consider pursuing Cordarrelle Patterson to replace Ezekiel Elliott.

At 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, Patterson profiles as a like-for-like Elliott replacement in short yardage situations and he just so happens to be out of favor in Atlanta’s backfield that features No. 8 overall pick Bijan Robinson and 2022 fifth-round pick Tyler Allgeier, who rushed for 1,035 yards on 4.8 YPC as a rookie.

Cowboys ‘Don’t Have a Chance!’ 49ers Legend Steve Young Rips Dallas – CowboysCountry, Zach Dimmit

Trash talk coming from former Eagles, Giants and now 49ers…surprise surprise.

Thankfully for the sake of keeping true to NFL lore, the legendary NFC rivalry of the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers has been renewed over the past two postseasons, pinning two of football’s most historical teams against each other with the season on the line.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, they haven’t been able to capture the kind of playoff magic they had in the early 1990s against the Niners during the past two playoff matchups. Both of Dallas’ losses to San Francisco from this past season and the year before have ended in embarrassing fashion on the final play, including January’s 19-12 loss in the Divisional Round.

Talking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young didn’t hold back when discussing Dallas’ chances at contending this season while questioning the team’s offensive play-calling. On the flip side, he praised 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who led San Francisco to the NFC Championship last season.

“The 49ers have a head coach who is as innovative as anybody in the league, at a time when the Cowboys last year are running 2015 plays and don’t have a chance,” Young said.

Ranking five NFC QBs under most pressure in 2023: Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins must take teams to next level – CBS Sports, Jeff Kerr

Well, number one at something, right?

Life as a quarterback in the NFL is certainly the most fulfilling — when that player wins. For every Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, there are quarterbacks who need to win in order to keep their starting jobs.

Who are the quarterbacks facing the most pressure in a wide-open NFC? These quarterbacks have already won at the NFL level, but need to advance farther in the playoffs. If that’s not the case, they are trying to win with a new team or win a starting job with their current team.

Prescott’s job isn’t on the line, but his legacy is. How many times are the Cowboys going to win double-digit games, advance to the playoffs, and not get past the divisional round? This occurrence has happened four times under Prescott, and twice in the last two seasons.

Prescott has won two playoff games, but those playoff victories haven’t exactly been against world beaters. The combined record of opponents the Cowboys have beaten in his two playoff victories is 18-15, which is the lowest opponent win percentage (.545) in playoff wins among the 109 quarterbacks to win multiple postseason games in their career.

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