BOCA RATON, Fla. — The Washington Redskins decided to move on from Alfred Morris, but they’ll see plenty of him next season. Morris, an unrestricted free agent, agreed to a two-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday.
In eight career games against the Cowboys, Morris rushed for 710 yards and seven touchdowns on 152 carries.
Morris rushed for a career-low 751 yards and one touchdown on 202 carries last season and shared carries with rookie Matt Jones. Drafted in the sixth round in 2012, Morris and former quarterback Robert Griffin III were a dynamic duo in Kyle Shanahan’s read-option offense. Morris rushed for a franchise-record 1,613 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, helping the team win the NFC East. That season, Griffin also rushed for 815 yards and seven touchdowns.
In four seasons, Morris rushed for 4,713 yards and 29 touchdowns. The 27-year-old had a taxing workload and averaged 292 carries in his first three seasons. Morris’ playing time declined after the Redskins drafted Jones in the third round. Throughout the season, coach Jay Gruden maintained that he was using Morris and Jones together, rather than preferring one as the lead back. Jones rushed for 490 yards and three touchdowns on 144 carries and also caught 19 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s got a home, wish it was outside the division but that’s OK,” Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan said at the NFL annual meeting. “We made a decision in house. He’s a good football player, very good person. He’s had a good career. The way the NFL works is you’re always trying to get better, always trying to bring in younger and that’s probably part of the process. Hope he does a nice job except twice a year against us.”
The Redskins’ entire rushing attacked struggled this season and finished 20th with an average of 97.9 yards per game. Jones injured his hip and missed the final two games of the season, as well as the Redskins’ wild-card game against the Green Bay Packers. Morris rushed for 233 yards in the final three games of the season.
During the NFL scouting combine, Gruden said the team wasn’t ruling out Morris’ return though it was clear they were ready to go in another direction. Jones struggled with ball security at times last season and fumbled five times, but the Redskins believe he has the potential to serve as the team’s lead back.
Last Thursday, the Redskins also re-signed running back Chris Thompson, who was an exclusive-rights free agent. Thompson, who had offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, served as the team’s third-down back.
• Anthony Gulizia can be reached at agulizia@washingtontimes.com.
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