The Dallas Cowboys added some much-needed youth to their running backs room in the 2025 NFL draft when they selected running back Jaydon Blue.
Blue was a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys after playing his college ball at Texas. In 2024, he finished with 730 rushing yards, 368 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns for the Longhorns.
Ahead of his first season in the NFL, Blue was listed as the No. 3 running back on the depth chart behind starter Javonte Williams and backup Miles Sanders, but the expectation was he would at least be active and maybe have a role early on.
However, that is not the case. Here's the latest on Blue's status for Week 1.
Is Jaydon Blue playing tonight?
The Cowboys released their list of inactives on Thursday evening and Blue was on it. Considering he wasn't on the injury report, it appears Blue is a healthy scratch for the first game of the season.
Why is Jaydon Blue inactive?
We don't have a definitive reason as to why Blue isn't suiting up, but we can take an educated guess.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer has expressed his desire to play a physical brand of football in his first season in Dallas, and part of that plan includes fullback Hunter Luepke, who is likely the reason why Blue isn't dressing against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Luepke, who was just given a contract extension, will serve as a lead blocker for the Cowboys' running backs, and he could also get some snaps as a tight end.
And, if Williams and Sanders suffer injuries, Luepke is capable of handling the duties at running back. As a result, Schottenheimer likely didn't see the need for Blue to be active and instead prefers to have an extra player at another position.
This is no doubt a disappointing start to Blue's career, especially when you consider the Cowboys' lackluster options at running back. But it's not like Blue has a huge mountain to climb in order to surpass Sanders or Williams, both of whom were terrible in 2024.
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