When the Dallas Cowboys acquired Christine Michael from the Seattle Seahawks earlier in the season, the idea for the longtime Marshawn Lynch backup was that he'd be a stabilizing force in the Cowboys' backfield that had lost Lance Dunbar and, unbeknownst at the time, would also lose Joseph Randle.
Michael was acquired for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in the 2016 draft, with the condition being Michael had to be on the roster for six games in order for the Seahawks to get the pick.
Well, Sunday's loss at Tampa Bay was Michael's sixth game on the active roster, which means they cut him at just the wrong time. A week earlier, and the draft pick would've stayed with the Cowboys.
The move was just the latest in what has been a chain reaction of bad decisions in the running game, whether you wanted DeMarco Murray back or not, they've now been left with a talented, yet fragile Darren McFadden to carry the load in the running game. They did sign another former Lynch backup in Robert Turbin, but for at least these next two games, you'd have to think the entire rushing load is falling on McFadden's shoulders with two games in five days because of the annual Thanksgiving Day game.
