ARLINGTON — Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said this week that he tells rookie running back Jaydon Blue to learn from starting running back Javonte Williams. On Monday, he’ll do it from the sideline.
The Cowboys made Blue inactive for Monday’s game against the Cardinals. The move was foreshadowed by the decision to add running back Malik Davis from the practice squad to the active roster. Davis had already used two of his three potential elevations.
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The decision to make Blue a healthy scratch comes after he had a career high in carries in the loss to the Broncos last weekend. There were some positives for Blue, including a 14-yard carry where he hurdled a Broncos defender, but there were also some negatives. Blue had a fumble that the Cowboys recovered. There were some other coaching points.
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“He can continue to play and emphasize playing more physical with and without the ball,” Schottenheimer said about Blue. “That’s a young back learning the speed of the game and the physicality of the game. But to me, I’m always going to go back to the consistency. You can’t put the ball on the ground. You have to be on top of your blitz pickups. You have to do those things.”
When discussing Blue, Schottenheimer also said he would be “remiss” if he didn’t point out Davis. The Cowboys signed Davis during training camp after Blue and Miles Sanders were injured. Davis impressed in the preseason enough to earn a practice squad spot with the Cowboys. He was called upon the last two weeks to replace safety Juanyeh Thomas as the team’s personal protector.
“We’re all about creating competition,” Schottenheimer said when discussing Blue and Davis. “It’s not just creating competition on the defensive side of the ball for jobs and who’s going to play. It’s on offense as well. That would be another battle to watch.”
The Cowboys decided to back up Schottenheimer’s words with their decision on Monday.
Former first-round pick Mazi Smith was also among the inactives.
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