Jaydon Blue Almost Sabotaged His Own NFL Debut Because of Bad Decision

Jaydon Blue is set to make his NFL debut with the Dallas Cowboys this week, but he almost postponed his chance at the NFL.

The Cowboys are likely without backup running back Miles Sanders ahead of their Week 5 matchup against the New York Jets, paving the way for Blue, who the team selected in the fifth-round out of Texas, to make his pro debut.

But a pair of customized, blue Louis Vuitton Nike cleats gave the rookie running back blisters.

“About halfway through practice, I saw him laying. I say what the hell happened to Blue?,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “‘Coach, I’m fine. I got blisters.’ I said, ‘Oh, shocker. Look at the cool shoes you got.’”

According to Cowboys reporter Nick Harris, Blue ditched the cleats for a fresh pair and the blisters improved, allowing Blue to make his debut on Sunday as scheduled.

It’s a close call that could have had Cowboys fans waiting even longer to secure their second victory of the season.

Blue has yet to make his professional debut after being a surprise healthy scratch to start the season for the Cowboys. However, it’s been somewhat of a non-issue since Javonte Williams has completely silenced his doubters after a stellar start to the season. Williams is averaging five yards per carry for 315 yards and four touchdowns.

While Blue isn’t necessarily as polished of a runner, he should provide some home run hitting ability.

"Jaydon’s actually put together a couple really good weeks of practice," Schottenheimer said. "We challenged him, we talked to him about consistency, working harder on the scout team and things like that, man it’s huge. Give him credit, he’s been terrific.”

Schottenheimer explained that Blue has not had an opportunity to play because the team has prioritized activating defensive players over him. There has been a big issue defensively in Dallas ever since the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, so this explanation does make sense.

In three years of college football, Blue averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He had 1,161 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He added 56 receptions for 503 yards and seven additional receiving touchdowns as well. The 2025 NFL Draft class was loaded with talent at running back, otherwise Blue would have likely been selected higher.

Texas has proved capable of producing big-time NFL running backs, just ask the Atlanta Falcons about Bijan Robinson.

Now, he’ll look to give Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott a lift offensively without CeeDee Lamb healthy. Hopefully he leaves the custom cleats at home.