Cowboys RB Deuce Vaughn (left) and special teams coach John Fassel
For the Cowboys and the team’s fans, it started with a 30-yard kick return in the preseason opener last August against the Jaguars. From there, it was eight fairly impressive runs, for 50 yards total, an average of 6.3 per carry. That included an impressive, jitterbugging 26-yard run to help set up a touchdown early in the second half, which he himself scored. When fans began raining down chants of “Deeeeuuuuucceeee,” after that TD, it was clear that Deuce Vaughn had become a fan favorite.
The reasons were obvious. At 5-foot-5, Vaughn brings a David-and-Goliath element to every play. And back in the 2023 draft, when the Cowboys selected Vaughn in the sixth round, it was his father, Chris—the Cowboys’ head of scouting—who got to make the call to his son telling he had been drafted. It was a tear-jerking moment.
But preseason Week 1 was the highlight of Vaughn’s season. He had five carries for 14 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys’ second preseason game, and no carries in the finale. He had 23 carries for 40 yards during the season, as well as seven catches for another 40 yards. Vaughn also had four punt returns for 19 yards.
Now, it seems, the feel-good, fan-favorite story that was Deuce Vaughn and the Cowboys could soon evaporate—one team insider has Vaughn failing to make the 53-man roster for the Cowboys.
Deuce Vaughn Not ‘Better Than the Next Guy’
The insider is longtime Dallas media fixture Mike Fisher, who outlined a likely 53-man Cowboys roster this week for SI.com/Athlon Sports. In it, Fisher picked just four running backs for the Cowboys this season, an especially weak group but one that still did not include Vaughn.
It won’t help that the Cowboys might not be done adding to the running back room, especially if its weak crop proves even more disappointing once camp gets rolling.
Here’s how Fisher summed up the group:
“Running back (4) Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, Hunter Luepke. If this isn’t working at some point in camp, maybe Dallas takes a look at some veteran names. Maybe Dowdle emerges as being better than Zeke … and maybe Deuce Vaughn finds a role, though we can’t figure out, except for special teams, exactly how he’s better than the next guy.”
Indeed, popularity with the fan base only carries a player so far. Elliott and Dowdle are locks to make the roster, so the challenge for Vaughn would be in beating out Davis and/or Hunter—or a late-camp veteran addition.
Cowboys Running Backs Ranked Worst in NFL
Vaughn could stick with the Cowboys, of course, as a member of the practice squad, though he could get picked up by another team if, indeed, he is cut this summer. His combination of speed and shiftiness could make him a useful third-down back for a team, if he were to get a shot.
As it stands, though, getting cut from what is widely seen as the worst running-back group in the NFL would not be good for the resume. Pro Football Focus recently ranked the Cowboys as the worst running-back group in the league, at No. 32.
The site wrote: “After letting Tony Pollard sign elsewhere in free agency, and missing out on the top backs in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cowboys re-signed Ezekiel Elliott to be their lead rusher.
“Elliott’s glory days came with the Cowboys, but his yards per carry average has dipped below 4.0 over the past two seasons, resulting in a career-low 69.2 PFF rushing grade in 2023. Behind him are Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.”
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