Dunbar Excited for Fresh Start in L.A.

Dunbar Excited for Fresh Start in L.A.

By Myles Simmons


For five years, running back Lance Dunbar was one piece of a crowded backfield with the Cowboys. He’d shown flashes of his ability both as a rusher and receiver, but due to injuries and the players around him, never had an opportunity to reach his full potential.

That’s why as an unrestricted free agent, it was refreshing for Dunbar to hear Rams head coach Sean McVay’s plans for him.

“When I met with him, he viewed me the same way I view myself. And that meant a lot to me,” Dunbar said in a recent interview with therams.com. “I can pass protect. I can run routes. I can catch out the backfield. Whatever they need me to do, I’m able to do.”

“In the NFL, they like to put labels on you and handicap you, and say you can only do certain things,” Dunbar continued. “But I know I’m capable of doing a lot. And I just want to show everything I can do.”

Dunbar’s career numbers are limited because of the circumstances he’s faced. He’s been behind two Pro Bowl running backs in DeMarco Murray and Ezekiel Elliott. But he’s also experienced two season-ending knee injuries, both of which came when he was being featured in the Cowboys’ offense.

The first occurred in Dunbar’s second season in one of his best professional games — Nov. 28, 2013, Cowboys vs. Raiders in Dallas. To that point, Dunbar had mainly been used in a reserve role, but he was the featured back in this particular matchup.

“I didn’t get many opportunities [and then] in one game, out the blue, they put me in and I was going off. I had like 12 carries for 80 yards in one half,” Dunbar said. “And then I got hurt that second half and that was the end of my season as it was just getting started.”

Dunbar recovered and made it through the 2014 season healthy. But his opportunities that year were once again limited, in large part because of Murray’s success as the Offensive Player of the Year.

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