Troy Aikman in the MNF booth during his first Monday Night Football broadcast. Photo by Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images

Troy Aikman might love the Dallas Cowboys, but the Hall-of-Fame quarterback has been delivering some tough love in recent weeks.

During a radio appearance on The Ticket in Dallas last week, Aikman called out the Cowboys wide receiving core for running “lazy” routes off the line of scrimmage, a criticism head coach Mike McCarthy was later asked to respond to. And although the Cowboys weren’t playing during Monday Night Football, Aikman still appeared to take a subtle jab at his old team while calling the game between the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on ESPN.

With Baltimore leading Tampa Bay 27-10 late in the third quarter, Ravens 30-year-old running back Derrick Henry took off for an 81-yard run.


“There’s gotta be a lot of teams out there who had opportunities to bring in Derrick Henry that are kinda kicking themselves for not doing it,” Aikman said shortly after Henry’s big gain.

Aikman didn’t name any teams directly, but he didn’t need to. It’s the Cowboys. They’re the team who had an opportunity to bring Henry in that should undoubtedly be kicking themselves for not doing so. Henry appeared on The Pivot Podcast earlier this year and stated signing with Dallas, where he lives, would’ve been the “perfect situation.” But according to Henry, the Cowboys “never reached out.”

In the months since Henry signed with Baltimore, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly had to answer questions about showing no interest in the dynamic running back. Jones might object to local radio hosts criticizing his personnel decisions, but how will he respond to Aikman hinting at the same critique?

Through seven games, Henry is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and on pace to set the single-season rushing record. The Cowboys, meanwhile, opted to bring back 29-year-old running back Ezekiel Elliot and are currently averaging 3.5 yard per carry as a team. Dallas had an opportunity to sign Henry, and as Aikman aptly noted, they should be kicking themselves for showing no interest.

[Monday Night Football]

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com