One former Dallas Cowboys running back is trying to breathe life into his career after knee surgery cut short his 2025 season.
“Former Pro Bowl running back Miles Sanders worked out for the Raiders today, per source,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on his official X account on Monday. “Sanders, a free agent, is fully cleared from a knee injury that required surgery and cut short his 2025 season in Dallas.”
He signed a 1-year, $1.337 million contract with the Cowboys in March 2025 but only played in 4 games with 20 carries for 117 yards and 1 touchdown.
Sanders Was Elite NFL Running Back With Eagles
Sanders was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles out of Penn State in the 2nd round (No. 53 overall) in the 2019 NFL draft and had 1,327 yards of total offense as a rookie. He followed that with 1,976 yards of total offense over the next 2 seasons despite missing 9 games due to injuries.
Sanders put it all together in 2022 as the Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, with career highs of 1,269 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns as he made the Pro Bowl for the first time. He also played in all 17 games. That translated to his big payday with the Carolina Panthers on a 4-year, $25 million contract he signed in March 2023.
Sanders was replaced as the starter by Chubba Hubbard on the Panthers early in his tenure.
Cowboys Made Big Move at Running Back in Offseason
The Cowboys made a middling investment at running back in 2025 with a 1-year, $3 million contract for free agent Javonte Williams — a deal with numbers so low it didn’t even guarantee him a place on the 53-man roster.
Dallas watched that investment pay off in a big way as Williams ran wild in his 1st season in Dallas, rushing for career highs across the board with 1,201 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns at 4.8 yards per carry.
Instead of letting Williams hit the free-agent market for a 2nd consecutive year, the Cowboys went all-in, signing the 2021 2nd round pick to a 3-year, $24 million contract.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox called Williams falling back to his old ways and being a “one hit wonder” as the worst-case scenario for the Cowboys offense in 2026.
“It’s hard to envision the Cowboys offense regressing much, barring injuries, of course,” Knox wrote on June 15. “However, Dallas will have plenty riding on the ability of (George) Pickens and Williams to replicate their 2025 success … Williams, meanwhile, is coming off the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career, and the Cowboys don’t have much proven depth behind him. If he and Pickens both regress, Dallas’ offense could be closer to average than elite.”
Williams was a 2nd round pick (No. 35 overall) by the Broncos in the 2021 NFL draft after rushing for over 1,100 yards and earning All-American honors for the University of North Carolina in 2020.
His career took off like a rocket with the Broncos when he earned All-Rookie honors in 2021 after he racked up 1,219 yards of total offense and 7 touchdowns, including 903 rushing yards. In 2022, a devastating knee injury put Williams’ career in jeopardy after he tore his ACL, LCL, and PCL in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
In the 2 seasons after his injury, Williams was almost completely ineffective. He led the Broncos with 774 rushing yards in 2023, then saw his numbers dip even more in 2024 when he rushed for 513 yards and averaged just 3.7 yards per carry in 16 starts.
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