Cowboys make a trade for RB Gronk Rips ‘Soft’ Playoff-Bound Dallas’ Is ‘Not Mentally Tough’ As Raheem Mostert Is Pressed.
They didn’t do it with DeMarco Murray, the NFL’s rushing champion. They didn’t do it with Ezekiel Elliott, the reigning NFL running champion. And here’s a heads-up: They’re not going to do it with Raheem Mostert, who, at 31 years old, has a chance to become the 2023 NFL rushing champion while playing for the Miami Dolphins, who happen to meet Dallas this Sunday in NFL Week 16 on Christmas Eve.
But our friends at B/R are mistaken if they believe the Cowboys will abandon their documented stance on the matter in order to overreach for Mostert. (Or, as we’ll see below, for Alvin Kamara of the Saints.)Mostert has been outstanding for Miami this season, as the Cowboys are about to discover. The Cowboys are currently reliant on running backs Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle, both of whom are due to become free agents following this season.
Pollard gets paid $10 million this season. Dallas is unlikely to do so again. Dowdle earns $1 million, which is more tolerable. And finding out if the Cowboys’ other young players (Malik Davis, Deuce Vaughn, and Hunter Luepke) can play?
The Cowboys will undoubtedly want to do so. Meanwhile, what if the Dolphins decide to make De’Von Achane their starting running back, displacing Mostert? That looks reasonable. However, the two sprinters have already shared time this year. Why not repeat the process in 2024?Was it monetary? No way, considering Mostert is only set to earn $2.3 million next season.
We’re guessing Dallas would reconsider too-old running backs if Mostert was available in a deal for next to nothing. That $2.3 million amount is enticing. But isn’t it also appealing to Miami?
“Dallas could replicate exactly what Miami is doing this season with Mostert and Achane,” writes B/R. Yes, it could. But we’re sure Miami would like to mimic what they’re doing with Mostert and Achane.
Gronk Slams ‘Soft’ Cowboys, Saying ‘Playoff-Bound Dallas’ Is ‘Not Mentally Tough!’
The Dallas Cowboys are looking for explanations for their persistent road failures, with coach Mike McCarthy calling it a “gap” compared to how they play at home and quarterback Dak Prescott urging the organization’s “best problem-solvers” to get to work.
However, FOX NFL analyst Rob Gronkowski stated in the postgame following the Cowboys’ 31-10 loss at Buffalo on Sunday – a setback that brings the playoff-bound Cowboys to 10-4, but with a 3-4 road record this season and an overall 8-9 record away from home in the last two years – that he can pinpoint the problem.
He claimed that the Cowboys are not “mentally tough” enough to win on the road. “When you can’t go on the road and win a big game in a hostile environment with weather that isn’t on your side, isn’t in your favor,” Gronk added. “The Dallas Cowboys are not a tough-minded football team.”
The Cowboys can plead their case till they run out of air. However, Dallas was blown out by San Francisco earlier in the season, just lost at Philadelphia, and were hammered by the Bills in Week 15.
Add in Dallas’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale earlier this year, a defeat that set the tone for a race to the playoffs, but likely not to a higher seed, and Gronk’s claim seems reasonable.
“We didn’t play well,” McCarthy admitted after the game in damp and windy Buffalo. “There’s just too big a difference in (our performance on the road vs. at home).” We need to improve our road performance significantly.”
That is a proven fact. The “how” and “why” are in doubt… unless you listen to Gronk, who dubbed the Cowboys “pretenders” last year at this time and now believes he has the “how” and “why” nailed.
“It’s been shown twice this year,” Gronk, an all-time great tight end with Super Bowl toughness on his resume, said. “And now they got absolutely blown apart versus the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo with a crazy atmosphere.”
If Dallas has a “fix” here, it has an opportunity to prove it. The Cowboys play their next game on Christmas Eve. Against the Miami Dolphins. Yes, I’m driving in Miami.