Former Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle
Getty
Former Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle
If there was one thing that was certainly true during the Dallas Cowboys tenure of running back Rico Dowdle, it was that coach Mike McCarthy had faith in him all along. Dowdle was an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina back in 2020, remember, when McCarthy was in his first season as the coach of the Cowboys. He fractured his hip in training camp in 2021, but Dallas never considered waiving him.
Dowdle then developed into a reliable backup at running back and finally, for one season–in 2024, what would be McCarthy’s last season–he was the starting running back, and put up his first 1,000-yard season. But Dowdle was a free agent last offseason, and the Cowboys were not interested in bringing him back, instead allowing him to sign a new contract with the Panthers.
It is fitting, then, that McCarthy has been given another chance as a head coach in Pittsburgh and in one of the Steelers’ first moves since free agency opened, he brought Dowdle to Western Pennsylvania with him, according to insider Jordan Schultz.
Cowboys Let Rico Dowdle Go Last Offseason
When Dowdle left the Cowboys last year, he did so on a bargain deal , signing for $2.75 million with the Panthers plus incentives. He entered last season as Chuba Hubbard’s primary backup but earned the starting job and tallied 1,076 yards with six touchdowns on 236 attempts while adding another 39 receptions for 297 yards.
Dowdle had a memorable game against the Cowboys, of course, in which he warned his former teammates to, “buckle up,” and then proceeded to go for 183 yards rushing and another 56 yards receiving, with a touchdown, in Carolina’s 30-27 win over the Cowboys, a game that propelled the Panthers to the playoffs and ultimately helped derail Dallas’ postseason hopes.
Mike McCarthy Shawn Howe
GettyFormer Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is the new coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Javonte Williams Made Cowboys Fans Forget Rico Dowdle
The good news for the Cowboys now, though, is that they’re not overly concerned about the state of their running game, which has not been the case since star Ezekiel Elliott was in his prime. The Cowboys have cycled through top running backs–Dowdle was just one of them–but last year took a gamble on a low-cost contract for Javonte Williams.
Williams quickly made anyone complaining about not re-signing Dowdle forget bout that stance, as he established himself as one of the top backs in the NFL with a breakout year. Williams had 1,201 yards rushing, which ranked him No. 9 in the NFL in yardage last year.
‘It Was Awesome’
The Cowboys also changed course in their running-back approach this winter, as the team re-signed Williams well before free agency came around, agreeing to a three-year, $24 million contract to keep him as the team’s RB1 for the foreseeable future.
As coach Brian Schottenheimer said of the Williams signing, “It was awesome. It was a big piece of what we wanted to do because of the changes that we’re dealing with on defense and all the change on the staff and having some holes we need to fill.