Jerry has ridiculous answer on Cowboys failure to recruit Derrick Henry

Derrick Henry was interested in the Dallas Cowboys, but they never reached out. Jerry Jones tried to explain his reasoning but avoiding the question altogether.

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry / Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Dallas Cowboys enter Week 1 of the 2024 season with one of the more questionable running back stables in the NFL.

They currently list Ezekiel Elliott as the starter, but all signs point to Rico Dowdle being RB1. From there, they have Deuce Vaughn and fullback Hunter Luepke on the active roster with Dalvin Cook on the practice squad.

Elliott and Cook might have some name recognition, but they were far from the players we saw in their prime last season. Still, Dallas is putting a lot on their plate but they didn't have to do this. They had options in the offseason, with Derrick Henry standing out as the best fit. Making matters worse, Henry had interest in America's Team, but team owner Jerry Jones says they were comfortable going back after Elliott following his season in New England.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to @stephenasmith on why the team did not go after Derrick Henry in free agency spoke about the confidence that he has in Ezekiel Elliott:

"First of all, we might have a little difference as to what we were lacking the most. It is very common,…

— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) September 4, 2024

Jones didn't truly answer the question since he just shifted the topic to Elliott. Perhaps he will say he was trying to avoid tampering but, in all honesty, the truth would have been more infuriating. Henry, who had 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground in 2023 signed a two-year deal worth $16 million with the opportunity to increase to $20 million.

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Even at the high end, that's what they paid for Tony Pollard in 2023 and less than they paid Elliott in 2022. Jones wasn't comfortable paying top dollar for a running back after being burnt, so he failed to truly assess what Henry has done. Instead, he compared him to what Elliott and Pollard gave him and said "no thank you."

As for his claim that Elliott was better than he gets credit for in 2023, that's also debatable. Yes, he finished with 642 yards but scored just three touchdowns on the ground and five as a receiver. He also averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per attempt compared to 4.2 for Henry.

Elliott did receive critical carries as well for the Patriots, especially down the stretch which was another claim from Jones. The problem is that this was due to necessity rather than merit. Staring RB Rhamondre Stevenson missed the final five games of the year. With him out, Zeke never had more than 68 yards in a game (on 22 carries in Week 14) and fell under 30 yards twice. Making matters worse, he had three games in a row with less than three-yards per attempt (Week 14-16).

In those final five starts, he had 213 yards on 72 attempts for 2.95 yards per rush.

Henry, on the other hand, had 153 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts (8.05 average) in his final outing alone.

So with all that being said, the Cowboys made what they thought was the frugal decision. Not the best one. Now they have to live with it, even if Jones doesn't want to be honest about it.

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