Cowboys Signing Austin Ekeler Media Proposal: Long-Term Contract in Free Agency?
LAS VEGAS – The Dallas Cowboys are sending mixed signals about what they plan to do in 2024 to get their running back situation squared away.
On the one hand, a team source suggests to CowboysSI.com that they are more likely to draft a running back – essentially to replace Tony Pollard, slated to hit free agency this March – than they are to chase an established veteran name.
On the other hand, team owner Jerry Jones has talked about being “different” and “disruptive” when it comes to talent acquisition, also using the word “influential” to discuss the level of newcomer that might be added.
And amid our discussions about the likes of everybody from Saquon Barkley to Derrick Henry, along comes Bleacher Report, which sees a potential solution for the Cowboys in Austin Ekeler.
Our thoughts on Ekeler are two-fold: Ekeler has spent the entirety of his seven-year career with the Los Angeles Chargers, but is making it clear that he doesn’t plan on returning … and if he is viewed as a reclamation project of sorts – he’s coming off a year during which he played in 14 games but rushed for just 628 yards and five touchdowns while averaging just 3.5 yards per carry – it’s worth discussing.
But Ekeler doesn’t talk about himself that way, and Spotrac predicts that the 28-year-old is still worthy of a three-year contract worth $22 million.
That is absolutely not happening in Dallas.
As recently as 2022, Ekeler demonstrated his versatility as a weapon as he rushed for 915 yards and 13 touchdowns … and added 107 receptions for 722 yards with five more scores.
Maybe that can be recaptured. But a big-money commitment to any running back in Dallas is unlikely. And a long-term commitment to a 28-year-old running back coming off a poor year is unwise.
