After putting together a 1,000-yard season as the starter in 2015, Darren McFadden was supplanted as the starter in 2016 by Ezekiel Elliott after he fractured his elbow in a Memorial Day mishap.
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McFadden, however, will return to Dallas to be the Cowboys safety net should something happen to the electric sophomore back:
McFadden was placed on the NFL (Non-Football Injury) List in late August, which gives a player a mandatory six-week recovery period.
Despite not having to pay him a dime, the Cowboys decided to pay McFadden his full $1.25 million salary.
During his run as the starter, he posted his second-highest rushing numbers of his career with 1,089 yards.
Throughout McFadden's career, he's been one of the more injury-prone backs in the league, suffering from hamstring ailments (missed 8 games), a sprained ankle (missed 8 games), a lisfranc sprain (missed 9 games), a fractured orbit bone (accident in practice and missed four games), a torn meniscus (missed four games), turf toe (missed 3 games) and a sprained shoulder (missed 1 game), per sportsinjurypredictor.com.
The Cowboys lost pass-catching running back specialist Lance Dunbar to the Los Angeles Rams earlier Thursday.
