Cowboys predicted to acquire four-time 1,000-yard rusher in free agency facelift
The Dallas Cowboys can’t afford another 7-10 season in 2025, and the offense could use a major boost to prevent that from happening.
In 2024, the Cowboys had the sixth-fewest rushing yards per game as an offense. Not a single team that finished below them made the playoffs. In some respects, ground-and-pound football has gone out of style, but successful teams can do it when it counts.
Last offseason, the running back names available were much more appealing than they are this time around. Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones sat on the sidelines as Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry both switched teams and had unbelievable 2024 seasons.
But the Cowboys can’t let past mistakes prevent them from doing the right thing this spring. They need a new running back, and one NFL writer sees them getting one.
On Thursday, Mike Jones of The Athletic predicted that the Cowboys would sign four-year Pittsburgh Steelers starter Najee Harris, a former first-round pick and four-time 1,000-yard rusher, to revamp their languishing backfield.
“Jerry Jones committed malpractice by neglecting to address the running back position last offseason,” Jones wrote. “Perhaps he has learned from his mistake and will devote resources to it now to give first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer and quarterback Dak Prescott a better shot at success.
“Harris played in every game over the past four seasons for the Steelers, but Pittsburgh declined his fifth-year option. He rushed 263 times for 1,043 yards (4.0 average) and six touchdowns last season.”
Harris, who turns 27 on Sunday, hasn’t been one of the NFL’s best backs by any means. But he’s never missed a game in his four pro seasons, and he averages 1,078 rushing yards and 8 1/2 total touchdowns a season, which the Cowboys would likely sign up for.
If a one or two-year contract is all it takes for Dallas to nab Harris, they should be able to grab him and still address other needs with all the money they opened up this week by restructuring the contracts of CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott.
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