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Sometimes, the best reaction to a personnel move in the NFL is simply a slack-jawed disbelief at what we're seeing. Many times—especially on a national level—those moves are centered around franchises that typically make these sorts of moves again and again, such as Washington, the Oakland Raiders or the Cleveland Browns.
Yet, the Dallas Cowboys have proved a lot of people wrong recently as they've stayed patient and shrewd and earned a playoff appearance last season. So, it was surprising when they elicited that reaction with a Friday signing of former Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden to a two-year deal worth $5.85 million. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Charean Williams first reported the deal, and ESPN's Todd Archer provided the terms.
Just, why?
Let's not overstate the move, though. This is not a replacement for DeMarco Murray, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, as the team tweeted Thursday. I don't think it's reasonable to believe that owner Jerry Jones or his son Stephen really believe their offensive line is that good that someone such as McFadden can duplicate Murray's production from last season.
No, McFadden is going to be part of the solution, which may also include troubled but talented Joseph Randle already on the roster as well as additional signings and draft picks. This would not only align the Cowboys with trends already sweeping the NFL as teams go away from true lead backs but also keep them from a situation like they had with losing Murray this season.
The question is not whether a running back by committee is smart, because it unequivocally is. No, the question is whether there is any logical, feasible or sensible reason that McFadden is the guy the Cowboys reach out to almost immediately upon losing Murray, as NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported, to be part of that committee.
There is no reason, unless you're Jerry Jones.
The former Arkansas Razorback was a co-captain of the 1964 national championship team for his and McFadden's alma mater, and Jones has long been a mega-booster for the school's athletic teams. He's also publicly coveted former Razorback players in the NFL and talked them up even when he hasn't been able to land them.
When McFadden went No. 4 overall to the Raiders in the 2008 NFL draft, Jones consoled himself with McFadden's running mate, Felix Jones, who lasted all of five years in Dallas before leaving the NFL for good in 2013.
McFadden only makes sense as a low-risk signing if one doesn't take a look at the other running backs listed on the market. Sure, new Saints acquisition C.J. Spiller, as ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported, might have been a higher-caliber back (and thus at a higher price tag) than the Cowboys were interested in, but that doesn't change the fact that Stevan Ridley, Knowshon Moreno and Pierre Thomas are all still on the market and better backs than McFadden.
At McFadden's best—at his absolute best—he's never been a suitable replacement for Murray, but (again) that's not the point here. The point is that this move makes zero sense unless one knows the words of the Arkansas fight song by heart, or one is completely unaware of the current landscape of the NFL running back market.
Not to mention: In the deepest running back draft class we've seen in a while, Jones and Co. could've spent multiple picks on mid-round backs that offer far more than McFadden.
I will admit that the Cowboys have proved us wrong before. Their drafts have been stellar in recent years, adding linemen such as center Travis Frederick when others had him rated lower on their boards and being exceedingly patient with current staff and personnel as they've looked to build the playoff team we saw last season.
This move isn't high-risk, but it's not high-reward either.
This move just strains credibility. It's not the sort of back-of-roster padding that a back the caliber of McFadden deserves at this stage of his career, and it reeks of desperation thanks to the timing of the signing and the fervor of which the Cowboys reached out to McFadden.
It's just...
It's just not a move that makes any sense.
Michael Schottey is an award-winning NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and a writer for Football Insiders. Follow him on Twitter.
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