Free Agency: Cowboys add former Panthers 2nd-round RB in unofficial swap
The main knock on the Cowboys' run game last year is that the team bypassed all of the marquee talents that were available in free agency to instead rely on a committee approach that included too many mediocre running backs and didn't land on a true workhorse until the season had largely slipped away.
So far in the 2025 offseason, the Cowboys have let that workhorse walk out the door and added two more names to the committee. News of the most recent signing came late Thursday night.
Dallas has agreed to terms with Miles Sanders on a one-year deal. The former second-round draft pick spent his first four seasons with the Eagles, and had been in Carolina the past two. The 27-year-old has one Pro Bowl and a single 1,000-yard season on his résumé, both coming in his final year in Philadelphia.
Terms of Sanders's deal with the Cowboys were not immediately known.
Sources: Miles Sanders plans to sign with the #Cowboys on a one-year deal. pic.twitter.com/Jx9jDzKyoP
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 14, 2025
Sanders was released by the Panthers in a salary-cap move on Tuesday. The next day, the club signed Rico Dowdle, the aforementioned free agent rusher who only became the Cowboys' top backfield option midway through the 2024 season but finished with career-best numbers.
Sanders, by contrast, finished last year with career lows in rushing attempts and rushing yards, but it should be noted he missed six games with an ankle injury.
Now he'll join a revamped Cowboys RB room that almost assuredly isn't done growing yet. Former Broncos second-rounder Javonte Williams was added earlier in the week, and the team is still widely expected to look to the draft for help at the position, perhaps even in the early rounds.
With Deuce Vaughn and Hunter Luepke still on the roster and Dalvin Cook and Malik Davis remaining on the practice squad for now, there could be plenty of competition for reps once offseason work begins.
Over six pro seasons, Sanders has 4,345 rushing yards on 923 carries, a 4.7-yard-per-attempt average. He has 23 touchdowns on the ground. As a receiver, he's caught 175 passes on 246 targets, amassing 1,244 yards and scoring four times.
How the Cowboys' rushing workload will be divvied up in 2025 remains to be seen, but they've added another experienced set of legs to the mix.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Free Agency: Dallas signs RB Miles Sanders in swap with Panthers
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