Dallas is averaging 103.6 rushing yards per game, 21st in the NFL. A new backup candidate cannot repair that entire number. Wednesday brought Miller onto the Cowboys’ practice squad, a move that makes sense as a response to a specific shortage, but it should not become a substitute for examining the ground game around him.
Miller arrived after New Orleans waived him Nov. 7. Tyler Goodson’s knee injury is expected to cost Dallas multiple weeks, and Goodson also carried an ankle designation as a nonparticipant Wednesday. Javonte Williams remains the starter. Dallas has added someone to consider behind him; it has not announced Miller’s elevation for Sunday’s game against San Francisco.
The rushing average is a team statistic. Blocking, game situations and the opponents all shape the opportunities a back receives. It would be unfair to attach Dallas’ ranking to Williams alone, just as it would be unreasonable to expect Miller to transform it from a practice-squad spot. The first useful question is which part of the workload Dallas actually needs him to handle.
Goodson’s most recent game supplies an immediate example. He gained 77 yards on 12 carries in the 27-23 win over Indianapolis, an average of 6.4. Losing that contribution creates a real opening, but one productive afternoon does not establish a workload that any replacement can simply inherit. Dallas needs to preserve useful options when Williams comes off the field.
Miller’s current numbers make him a candidate rather than a solution already found. In six games for the Saints this season, he ran 57 times for 159 yards and two scores. Nine catches added 37 yards.
That rushing average of 2.8 is considerably less inviting than the line Goodson just produced, though the two players were working in different teams and circumstances. Dallas should examine why Miller’s attempts ended that way rather than assume the average explains itself.
There is a more encouraging sample that the Cowboys know directly. Miller gained 42 yards from nine preseason carries against Dallas and added a 15-yard reception. That offers something concrete to review alongside the regular-season numbers.
It is also a limited sample under different conditions. The staff has to decide which parts of that performance might help its present offense, rather than treating the whole afternoon as transferable.
An introduction should be easier with Derrick Foster in the room. Dallas’ running-backs coach held the same job in New Orleans in 2024, when Miller appeared six times and made two starts. Miller recognized some familiar terminology on arrival. Similar language can save time during a midseason move, but the playbooks are not identical and knowing a term does not execute an assignment.
The practice squad still offers other choices in Jashaun Corbin and Israel Abanikanda. Their presence gives Dallas a comparison to make instead of an obligation to promote the newest arrival. Running production is part of that comparison.
Coaches also have to consider protection responsibilities and whether a back can perform the particular work they want when Williams rests. Those are practical football questions that a transaction announcement cannot settle.
