The Dallas Cowboys continue to try and make moves to stabilize the offense and help out quarterback Tony Romo. Head coach Jason Garrett noted that the ground game would play a big role in this year's offensive plan as DeMarco Murray is expected to step up as a leader for the unit. However, there are still doubts as to whether or not Murray can be an every-down back and Cowboys have made a move that puts his future in question.
The Cowboys announced that former Arizona Cardinals running back Ryan Williams would be joining the team once the signing was official. Williams' NFL career has gotten off to a lopsided start as injuries have hit him hard. He has played in exactly five games in three seasons. He missed his entire rookie campaign to a ruptured patella tendon. He injured his shoulder partway through 2012 and was not active in 2013. He has 164 yards on 58 carries to his name. Garrett noted that he was thrilled to add Williams to the mix because he was a player the Cowboys thought highly of in 2011 before the Cardinals grabbed him in the second round.
"He was a guy that we regarded very highly coming out in the draft," Garrett said, via ESPN.com. "He was one of the best backs in the draft that year, and somebody we thought a lot of. He's gone there, and he's had some injuries, had injuries in '11 and '12. Then, he was injury-free last year but just didn't play because of what their running-back situation was and their roster makeup. But he's someone when we watched him on tape - he played mostly in 2012, before he hurt his shoulder - he looks like the back we saw coming out of school. We did our due diligence, and we feel like bringing in a guy like that in to compete at that running back spot is good for our team."
Williams stresses that he is fully healthy and ready to play. The running back said that regardless of what people think, taking a full year off was the best thing for his body and now none of the injuries are an issue anymore. If he can return to the player he was entering the draft, the Cowboys will benefit greatly from it. Williams will challenge Murray for carries and could make a contract extension for the veteran non-existent in the offseason.
Murray has had plenty of doubts over the past two years and if Williams beats him at the starting job then the veteran and Dallas will part ways at the end of the season. The Cowboys are already eyeing a trade for Adrian Peterson in the near future, only adding more question marks to Murray's future.
