Mike McCarthy Playing Long Game With RB Selections
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy says freshness at the end of the season will influence who starts in 2024.
He was referring specifically to the running back position, which does not have a clear starter. Both Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle left the team this offseason.
Ezekiel Elliott has been brought back to Dallas but according to Mike McCarthy, it’s to be part of a group.
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In three seasons under Mike McCarthy, Elliott racked up consecutive 870 + yard campaigns. For the Patriots last year, he generated 642 yards rushing and three touchdowns. McCarthy says the veteran is in as good a condition as he’s ever seen him.
“We’re running back by committee,” McCarthy said.
“But I think he’ll definitely play at the level that he’s played, I know, in my time here. I anticipate that. I don’t see any drop off in the way he moves. He’s in good shape. … He’s come in here and picked up right where he’s left off.”
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“Oh, absolutely. I have more experience with that,” he said. “I think it’s really the times that we’re in. … Seventeen games is a lot of football — that’s a big role for those guys. Don’t get me wrong, they’d all like to carry it like the old days and have those touches, but you want those guys fresh at the most important time of the year. So, that’s all part of planning and how you look at projections of play time.”
