The Dallas Cowboys will give NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith his unconditional release, ESPN has reported on tonight's broadcast of Sports Center. Smith was absent from a "getting to know you" meeting that new Cowboys Head Coach Bill Parcells held on Wednesday.
ESPN also added that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has urged Smith to retire -- a possibility that I can't quite fathom. Certainly, Smith isn't the running back he was 10 years, or even five years ago, but something tells me that at 34, Smith still may have at least 1,000 yards left in him.
As NFL Hall of Fame runningback John Riggins has said, Smith would probably find a perfect home in Washington with the Redskins and head coach Steve Spurrier's pass happy offense. At this point, anything has to beat running behind an offensive line in Dallas that is nowhere near as good as it was while the Cowboys were winning three Super Bowls in the early 90s.
Ironically, it would seem that Stephen Davis, who the Redskins released yesterday, seems like the sort of power running back that Parcells would like to hitch his wagon too. And something tells me Davis would love to be able to stick it to Spurrier and Redskins owner Dan Snyder twice a year.
UPDATE: In other runningback news, Terrell Davis is planning a comeback with the Denver Broncos.
