Oct 27, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back DeeJay Dallas (20) runs with the football against the Miami Dolphins during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Why DeeJay Dallas Is Right at Home With Jaguars

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Dec 19, 2025 12:30 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- New Jacksonville Jaguars running back DeeJay Dallas isn't just happy to be with the Jaguars. He is at home.

Dallas, a Brunswick, Ga. native who went to school in Miami, grew up just an hour from the Jaguars' stomping grounds and still calls the area home. For the former Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals running back and kick returner, the Jaguars feel like a dream turned to a reality.

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"I'm just happy to be here, honestly, and like you said, it's championship football. This is what you kind of dream of, boys growing up with aspirations to play for the Jags," Dallas said from the locker room this week.

"Actually, I just finished some recovery stuff. You know, we did dinner at the house, my wife, my three boys, and then my agent just called, and he was like, 'yeah, wanna go to Jacksonville?' I was like shoot, do I? Let's go."

The Jaguars needed to add to the running back position after Bhayshul Tuten sustained a finger injury last week against the New York Jets. While the injury does not appear to be a long-term one, the Jaguars needed to replace Tuten in the return game and on the depth chart.

Dallas has a long history both as a backup running back and as a kick returner, with extended stints with the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals that saw him become the first player to record a kickoff return under new kickoff rules in 2024.

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Above all else, though, Dallas is an experienced pro who is ready, willing and able to do anything the Jaguars' ask of him. With the Jaguars facing a big three-game stretch to close the season as they push toward the 2025 playoffs, Dallas has a chance to carve out his role.

"Yeah, I mean, whatever they have me doing, you know, I'm ready to do it. I'll prepare, you know, to play whatever. And then come game time, or before the game, they'll tell me what I need to do, and we'll go execute," Dallas said.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It helps his cause, and the Jaguars', that there are four different coaches on the staff who have coached Dallas before: pass game coordinator Shane Waldron, quarterbacks coach Spencer Whipple, running backs coach Chad Morton, and assistant offensive line and run game specialist Keli'i Kekuewa.

"Oh, yeah, I spent a good bit of time with Coach Whip in Arizona, and then Shane and Chad and those guys, Kali in Seattle," Dallas said. "So yeah, it makes it, you know, familial, like, it's like family coming from Seattle and other places. So it made it a little bit better.