(Editor's Note: Throughout the off-season, DallasCowboys.com staff writers will take a closer look at the roster, analyzing players' impact last season and how each fits into the team's 2010 plans. Today's featured player is running back Tashard Choice.)

Name: Tashard Choice
Position: Running back
Height/Weight: 5-11, 212
Experience: Two seasons
College: Georgia Tech

Key stat: Choice has averaged 5.3 yards on 156 carries in his first two seasons. He has been remarkably consistent, averaging 5.1 yards in 2008 and 5.5 yards in 2009.

Contract Status: Signed through 2011.

2009 Impact: Choice provided rushing insurance as the Cowboys' third back once again. In 2008, he had 62 carries for 325 yards (5.2 avg.) and two touchdowns in four December games, including three starts for an injured Marion Barber and Felix Jones. In 2009, with Jones and Barber each banged up for a three-game stretch spanning September and October, Choice had a team-high 40 carries for 207 yards (you guessed it, a plus-5.0-yard average). He finished the season with 349 rushing yards and three touchdowns and added 15 catches for 132 yards.

Where He Fits: With a manageable contract and a reduced role in Dallas, Choice has been the subject of trade rumors this off-season. The Cowboys have indicated all three backs will return, however. The question is whether Choice will become a larger part of the offense, as he so badly wants. When all three backs were healthy last year, the Cowboys tried to define his role by using him primarily in third-down and "Razorback" formations.

Writers' Analysis:

Rob Phillips: Anything can happen in this league, particularly if the right deal is presented to you. But the Choice trade rumors always amused me. Why would the Cowboys lose a valuable insurance policy at running back with Barber and Jones each banged up the last two seasons? Most would beg for that kind of depth. The Cowboys jumped from 21st to seventh in rushing, so wholesale changes aren't needed. But it'll be interesting to see if Choice gets more touches. He clearly wants to be more involved, and he's proven capable.

Nick Eatman: When the season began last year, I thought it was pretty clear that Tashard Choice was still the third-best running back on this team. When it ended, although I think it's a lot closer than it was, I still feel like Choice is the third-best back. However, what is even clearer to me is how important it is for this Cowboys team to have those three backs. There are some people who think Choice is equal, if not better than Barber. I'm not on board with that just yet, but I do think the health history of both Barber and Felix Jones have made Choice a very valuable member of this offense. And even if all three are healthy, Choice has earned the right to get a few touches a game in some capacity. I've said before that if a team came calling for Choice, that a second- or third-round pick would work. I think now, anything but a first-round pick would be too low for the Cowboys to part with Choice.