NFL Trade Rumors: Dallas Cowboys Trade For A Running Back
In their seemingly never-ending quest to find a replacement for Demarco Murray, the Dallas Cowboys have brought in another running back. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys made a deal with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday to bring in running back Christine Michael. The Seahawks will receive a conditional draft pick in return.
Michael is in his third season in the NFL. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2013 draft after starring for Texas A&M in college. Last season, he played in 10 games and rushed for 175 yards on 34 carries. Michael has yet to score a touchdown in his NFL career.
The Cowboys now have four running backs on their roster. Michael joins Darren McFadden, Lance Dunbar, and Joseph Randle as those who will tote the rock for Dallas this season. Dallas had the second leading rushing attack in 2014 with 2,354 yards, with Murray responsible for 1,845 of those yards. The Cowboys allowed Murray to walk away through free agency, and he decided to sign with Dallas’s division rival the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Seahawks had the best rushing stats in 2014, and they now are left with three running backs on their roster: All-Pro Marshawn Lynch, Thomas Rawls, and the newly acquired Fred Jackson. The signing of Jackson, after he was cut by the Buffalo Bills, made Michael expendable. Lynch and Jackson played with each other with the Bills from 2007 to 2010.
Dallas will likely go with a running back by committee approach, as no back has stepped up and grabbed the starting job. Randle will likely get the first shot to carry most of the workload. He played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and had 343 yards with three touchdowns. McFadden spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career with the Oakland Raiders. He signed a two-year free agent deal with the Cowboys this offseason. McFadden appeared in all 16 games for the first time in 2014, but he only had 534 rushing yards on 155 carries and he only scored two touchdowns. Darren is a good target out of the backfield with 36 receptions last year.
The Dallas Cowboys probably have the best offensive line in the NFL, so the need to find a running back or two that can take advantage of the line’s skills. Christine Michael is probably little more than a flier by the Cowboys, but it is a huge opportunity for Michael to show he can do some damage in this league.
[Image by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images]
