Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle had his NFL door open back in 2020 when he was signed as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina. Now, after a history of injury after season-ending injury, that door may finally be closing, as Blogging the Boys recently discussed.
Dowdle's special-teams work as both a kick returner and on the coverage unit helped him make the roster in 2020 alongside Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, where he had a 64-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but failed to make an impact otherwise.
The following season, he appeared on his way to making the roster again, when a hip fracture in the preseason ended his campaign prematurely. In 2022, Dowdle returned again, but missed time in OTAs with a knee injury.
But the Cowboys door remained open enough that Dallas invited him to training camp in 2022, and even with Malik Davis showing flashes, Dowdle still excelled on special teams and garnered him a roster spot.
However, five games into last season, Dowdle landed back on the IR with an ankle injury.
Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones has repeatedly said that a player's best ability is "availability". And unfortunately for Dowdle, he hasn't shown that ability.
And it might be the last straw for an organization that has shown nothing but patience with the former SEC running back.
Dowdle surely won't get tendered as unrestricted free agent. An offer of some sort? Maybe, but ... Even the veteran minimum of $1.01 million seems too high for his track record of injuries.
If Dowdle could've remained healthy and contributed, he could've been a part of the plan to help the Cowboys move on from Elliott and his salary, but given his inability to stay on the field, he's probably not even a viable insurance policy for the club at running back.
Dowdle will be just 25 in June, and his NFL door may still be open, but the Cowboys door at The Star might not be.
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