On Sunday, Dallas Cowboys waived veteran running back Darren McFadden who thanked the Cowboys on Twitter, saying that it was awesome to play for the team he rooted for while he was a kid.
McFadden had a difficult season with the Cowboys. The team prepared him to be the replacement for the suspended Ezekiel Elliott, but he ended up playing just one snap in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons. He was inactive in the first eight games of the season as well as the last two while Elliott’s spot in the backfield belongs to Alfred Morris and Rod Smith.
Just want to say Thank You to the @dallascowboys. I grew up a Cowboys fan and it was awesome to wear the Star on my helmet. I wish my boys good luck.
— Darren McFadden (@dmcfadden20) November 26, 2017
“Darren’s been a really good player for us and has been just a first-class guy on our football team,” stated Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. “And just the way the running back rotation has been and is probably going to be as we go forward he wasn’t going to get many opportunities. We feel good about what Alfred Morris has done for us and Rod Smith, and we had some good discussions these last couple of days and felt like it was in the best interest of our team and really in the best interest of Darren McFadden as well to release him and give him another opportunity to go somewhere else.”
Just two years ago, McFadden has had a 1,000+ yard season with the Cowboys when he was among the league’s top four runners. Last year, he suffered an injury when he broke his elbow and played only three games, plus Ezekiel Elliott performed fantastically. This year, McFadden was supposed to be a backup running back, but it was surprising when he was inactive in the season opener against the New York Giants.
Last week, against the Eagles, McFadden was also inactive, which frustrated him. He said that he wanted to consider retirement during the upcoming offseason, but now, he has an option to clear waivers and sign with some other NFL squad.
Not only did the Cowboys release McFadden, but they have signed defensive lineman Datone Jones. Jones has switched numerous teams this year, including the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers where he had six tackles in three games but was released eventually. Now that kicker Dan Bailey returned, Dallas also waived kicker Mike Nugent, who replaced him while Bailey was injured.
