March 3, 2026, 10:19 p.m. CT

Free agency is approaching and there could be another name that quickly sticks to the Dallas Cowboys. Despite offense not being a need for the Cowboys, this veteran could be added if he is jettisoned from his current team.

It hasn’t happened yet, but there are reports the Arizona Cardinals will be releasing running back James Conner, at which point, Dallas becomes an intriguing landing spot.

The team recently re-signed their top RB Javonte Williams, coming off a 1,200-yard, double-digit touchdown campaign, but the Cowboys could be in the market for another veteran runner. After Williams, the Cowboys have a pair of second-year RBs in Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, who both saw limited work as rookies, as well as Malik Davis as backups. Fullback Hunter Luepke is also an option as a runner, who Brian Schottenheimer said he would like to get more involved.

That’s a crowded backfield, but Conner has two things that could make the Cowboys a great fit. One, he’d easily be the most accomplished RB on the roster behind Williams. Conner has two 1,000-yard rushing and two double-digit scoring seasons under his belt.

Secondly, both of those 1,000-yard seasons came when he had Klayton Adams as the offensive line coach for the Cardinals. Conner ran for 1,040 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, then bested those numbers in 2024 by rushing for 1,094 yards and eight scores. The current offensive coordinator for the Cowboys worked well with Conner for the best two years of his career. 

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If the Cardinals did release Conner and the Cowboys signed him, he’d immediately be the best backup RB on the team. He’d offer stability and the same bruising running style that Williams has, something no other option offers in Dallas.

The Cowboys do have plenty of potential with Blue and Mafah, and Davis has shown to be a solid backup, but no one in that trio is as accomplished as Conner. Blue’s got the most upside and the hope is he’ll mature into a professional, but he might also be best suited for a lightning role to Williams’ thunder. 

There are age and injury concerns with Conner. He’ll be 31-years old in May and is coming off an ankle injury that cost him almost the entire 2025 season, but he’s also a back who doesn’t need the majority of carries to be successful. Conner’s thrived in a shared backfield before, scoring 28 touchdowns while splitting carries with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cardinals from 2020-2022. He’s also never had more than 236 carries in a year.

Conner wouldn’t be taking Williams’ role, merely complimenting it. And if Williams was lost for a long stretch of time during the season, Conner could step in and take the majority of those carries and allow the rotation to stay similar with Blue, Mafah, or Davis.

The Cowboys don’t need to do anything in the backfield; they have a good group of RB prospects as it stands now. The team could also allow the offseason to play out and see how Blue and Mafah progress, but Conner would be an ideal insurance policy for Dallas at RB.

If Conner is released, the Cowboys are an obvious fit.

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