The rising rookie, an electric presence throughout the Cowboys’ training camp, went down with a bone bruise on August 7th and failed to make his gridiron debut in the preseason. As he took a handoff from Joe Milton III, he received a facemask tackle from Sam Williams and went down on the ground. After being carted to the injury tent, as he limped out, his gridiron debut seemed to have dimmed. But the tides are changing for Jaydon Blue at last, and with it, HC Brian Schottenheimer’s hopes for a last bit of preseason flair ignite.

The HC himself dropped a positive update on Blue’s health recently. As Schotty noted, “Trending positively. We’ll see how he does today and tomorrow. We’re hopeful that he can get out there and play. I’ll get some more updates to see how they did this morning in some of their workouts and stuff they’re doing, but I’m hopeful.” In an RB room rife with competition, Blue had earned himself first-team offense reps at camp and gathered some clutch highlight reels to show for it. Competing against Miles Sanders, Phil Mafah, Deuce Vaughn, and Malik Davis, now the man himself has shared an update about his return to the field.

On his official X handle, Jaydon Blue posted a series of pictures from his training camp days, along with one image of him standing in the stadium, watching something faraway with anticipation etched in his eyes. The words said it all: “See ya soon😉⏳” The rookie RB’s debut is loading, and if all goes well, we will see him on Friday as the Cowboys go head-to-head with the Falcons. So far in the preseason, Dallas has struggled to get control of the run game. Against Baltimore, the Cowboys barely managed 51 yards on 20 carries, a sharp downward pivot from their 148 yards against the Rams. Blue’s physicality and speed could be just what Schotty’s schemes need right now to make a splash and set the tone for the season ahead. 

Sporting a 4.38s draft-speed, Blue came to Dallas as a fifth-rounder fighting for a roster spot. But his explosiveness and learning curve quickly caught the eyes of the HC and earned praise. “He’s got some juice. There’s a tempo to how he plays. He’s learning fast, and you can see him getting more comfortable each day.” And this wasn’t just empty hype. While Blue entered camp on the back of some doubts and criticism, if his camp performance has been any indication, there are big plays in store for him against the Falcons.

Jaydon Blue: flipping criticism and turning heads

Every good story needs a few setbacks. For Jaydon Blue, the injury wasn’t the start. The first one came even before the training camp began. Earlier in the offseason, former Cowboys offensive assistant Glenn Smith had claimed Blue was “borderline lazy.” But all that did was light a fire for him to set the narrative straight. As Blue noted about the comment, “All that did was add a little fuel to my fire. Of course, I know I’m not lazy. I know the work I put in. As you can see, I’m having a great camp so far. I’m just ready to continue building on that.” For blue, all it took was a week to flip the script and show everyone what he’s got.

Throughout camp, Blue had solidified himself with his runs, eyesight and pass-catching. The highlight reel moment came last July, when Blue made a dive and caught the ball one-handed near the sideline. The sideline naturally erupted, having seen a glimpse of what Blue could do for Schottenheimer’s offense. Insider Nick Harris had notably called that play “the catch of the camp so far.” But that was only one of the many clutch plays Blue delivered before he got sidelined. With Friday inching close, his participation and performance could finally stop the losing streak for Dallas.

For the final preseason game and beyond, Schottenheimer has promised a more physical game, with more chances for the offense to stay on the field with a better run game. In their last skirmish against the Ravens, the defense was notably on the field for 40 long minutes. If Blue can provide the breathing room for the offense this time, he might just solidify himself for the regular season. Can he? All signs (from the team, and Blue himself) point to yes. For now, we simply wait for August 22nd in anticipation.