Getty New Giants RB Alfred Morris.
The New York Giants cut ties with two Dallas Cowboys players on Tuesday. Yet, don’t worry Jason Garrett, two more former Cowboys are now set to walk through the door. Running back Alfred Morris and quarterback Clayton Thorson were each signed to the team’s practice squad on Tuesday.
Morris, 31-years-old, rose to fame during his days in Washington where he made two consecutive Pro Bowls and eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in each of his first three NFL seasons. Morris eventually found his way to Dallas in 2016 as an offseason addition. Unfortunately for Morris, the Cowboys also drafted All-Pro Ezekiel Elliott that season, essentially marking the end to Morris’ run as a featured back in the NFL. All in all, the former FAU standout spent two seasons (2016, 2017) under the watchful eye of then-Dallas head coach, now-Giants offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett.
Since leaving Washington, Morris has tallied off 1,222 rushing yards, appearing in games with the Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers and most recently, the Arizona Cardinals. While Morris has initially been brought aboard as a practice squad player, don’t be surprised to see the Giants call him up to their 53-man roster sooner rather than later.
Giants Run Offense Hurting for Production
While Morris may be up there in age, he doesn’t possess the same wear and tear of a typical 31-year-old running back. Morris has carried the ball just 296 times over the past four years, which is less than his rookie season output alone.
More importantly, can the Giants actually get any worse in the run game?
Even when all-world running back Saquon Barkley was healthy this season, New York failed to produce yardage on the ground. Barkley averaged just 1.8 yards per rush on his 19 carries before landing on injured reserve with a torn ACL. To counteract the loss of Barkley the best they could, New York signed former All-Pro Devonta Freeman to a contract ahead of Week 3.
With limited practice time under Freeman’s belt, the Giants opted to split the carries three-ways against the San Francisco 49ers. In return, Freeman, Dion Lewis and Wayne Gallman totaled just 17 rushing yards on 10 attempts. On the season, the G-Men have averaged a mere 56.7 yards per game, dead last in the NFL.
Simply put, if Morris has any juice left in the tank we should expect to see him taking handoffs from Daniel Jones in the near future.
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Giants Add Depth Behind Daniel Jones
Thorson will man the role left behind by Cooper Rush who had his contract terminated on Tuesday. A former Third-Team All-Big Ten selection our of Northwestern, Thorson is no stranger to the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted the quarterback in the fifth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft. However, his time in the City of Brotherly Love was short-lived, as he was waived during final roster cuts. Thorson was signed to the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad the following day where he stayed until his release on September 2nd of this year.
Thorson has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game.