Cowboys 'Sick' Rico Dowdle Reveals Truth About 'Conspiracy' Roster Move

The Dallas Cowboys lost their Sunday night matchup at the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, 30-24 , on an evening that featured a weird pregame tale about roster moves that have many Cowboys fans shouting about conspiracy theories.

The Cowboys' inactives for the night included running back Rico Dowdle, who as we reported in real time was to sit out after a sickness developed once he arrived at the stadium.

That ended up leaving more of the workload to the recently-elevated Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott as the Cowboys aim ed to improve their last-place rushing offense. (That didn't quite work out; Dallas managed a paltry 56 yards gained on the ground.)

But what about that wild and wacky fan conspiracy theory fans (and even some media) that was being cooked up?

As the theory went: Dallas wanted Dalvin up. And the club didn't want to "embarrass'' Ezekiel Elliott by making him a healthy scratch. So ... the Cowboys "faked'' the news that Rico got sick at the last minute as they made the decision to scratch Rico.

Problems with the idea? 1) Teams don't need a player to be sick or hurt to be inactive; they simply deactivate him. 2) Deuce Vaughn has been scratched before; he is unimportant enough that he could've simply been scratched again here. 3) If it comes out that the whole thing is a ruse - an unnecessary ruse - everybody from coach Mike McCarthy to Ezekiel Elliott to Rico Dowdle - will be at the center of a national "scandal of foolishness.''

The theory gained traction on social media when before the game, Rico - not in uniform, of course - walked onto the field to sign autographs for fans.

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So, while Dallas (now 3-4 after the loss) might deserve to be a laughingstock in some ways ... what's the real truth here?

Dowdle revealed after the game that he woke up with a 100.8-degree fever and flu symptoms while still hoping to play. He then took some Tylenol, but once in the locker room it unfortunately caused him to feel even worse, raising his temperature to 102.4 by the time he arrived at Levi's Stadium.

Is Dowdle lying to perpetrate a cover-up? We again have no idea why he would do so ... or why he would offer such detail if the whole thing is some sort of goofy put-on.