Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it clear that he doesn’t think the team needs to acquire Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, despite Indianapolis granting the veteran rusher permission to seek a trade on Monday.
Taylor, who has been vocal in his frustration about the team failing to give him an extension on his rookie contract this offseason, requested a trade from the franchise after a meeting with Colts owner Jim Irsay in July. Despite the team able to field trade offers for the 24-year-old star, Jones told reporters not to count the Cowboys among his active suitors.
“I look at every opportunity,” Jones said, per Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But the way our young backs are playing, I am very comfortable where we are with our backs right now. I feel good about our running back position if we didn’t add anybody.”
With the departure of Ezekiel Elliott in the offseason, the Cowboys’ featured running back is Tony Pollard, who has shown he can be a quality playmaker out of the backfield. Last season, the 26-year-old rushed for a career-high 1,007 yards and racked up 371 receiving yards en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance.
Behind Pollard sits Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis and sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn, who have a combined 185 career rushing yards and one touchdown.
The Cowboys do have substantial cap space available, but according to Jones, the team is going to focus on improving its current backfield with the options it has.
