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Dallas Cowboys to release running back Deuce Vaughn

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones08/26/25brianjones_93
deuce vaughn cowboys
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys are waiving running back Deuce Vaughn, according to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Vaughn has spent the last two seasons with the Cowboys.

The move comes after Deuce Vaughn rushed for 42 yards in the Cowboys’ final preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons this past weekend. Per the Cowboys’ unofficial depth chart, Vaughn was listed as a four-team running back with Phil Mafah and Malik Davis. Dallas’ top three running backs are Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders and Jaydon Blue.

Vaughn was selected by the Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. He played in seven games during his rookie season and rushed for 40 yards on 23 carries. Last year, Vaughn played in seven games and rushed for 70 yards on 17 attempts.

Vaughn was hoping that he could do some big things with Cowboys’ offensive line coach Conor Riley, who previously coached at Kansas State. The 23-year-old played for the Jayhawks from 2020-2022.

More on Deuce Vaughn’s time with the Cowboys

“Having Coach Riles down there at Kansas State for the three years that I was there, we built a really tight relationship,” Vaughn said, per Patrik Walker of Dallas Cowboys.com. “He’s a great man off of the field, but he is also an amazing coach on it. He came in for an interview one day and I was in the building. I got to hug him and, that next day, they ended up making the decision.

“To see him have that star on the side of his chest, it was really, really cool. And it was really big because that’s a guy that believed in me whenever I was going into K. State out of high school, so it was really big.”

“I think one of the things that makes him so special is he is truly a professional,” Riley said of Vaughn. “The way that he prepares and the way that he studies the game helped in how quickly he was able to be impactful for us at Kansas State. And that was in 2020, which was a challenge in and of itself, and it really makes him so, so dynamic.”

During his final season at Kansas State, Vaughn was named a consensus All-American after rushing for 1,558 yards and nine touchdowns. Vaughn’s father, Chris, works for the Cowboys as the team’s assistant director of college scouting.