Category: 2024 training camp

Dak signing? No, sitting. Cowboys fans go on quick rollercoaster ride with Prescott news Friday

From @ToddBrock24f7: Cowboys fans thought news of a Prescott extension was imminent when he didn’t show up on the practice field. The reality was disappointing.

Cowboys fans watching Oxnard were taken on a rollercoaster Friday that lasted all of 15 minutes, but provided quite a ride nevertheless.

It started with reports from media on the ground at training camp that quarterback Dak Prescott was not on the field with the rest of the team for its scheduled practice session. That news was accompanied by the revelation that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, team executive vice president Stephen Jones, VP of player personnel Will McClay, head coach Mike McCarthy, and VP of football operations and administration Todd Williams were also notably missing.

Predictably, Cowboys Nation lost its collective mind, wondering if it meant that the group was holed up in a meeting room, perhaps literally signing the paperwork on what has been largely expected to be a record-setting extension that would bind the quarterback to the team beyond the upcoming season.

 

The buzz on social media reached a fever pitch, with many observers convinced that an announcement was imminent, ensuring that the Cowboys and their $60 million man would be the talk of the league for the preseason’s opening weekend.

 

 

 

 

The excitement was very short-lived, though, with word spreading of why Prescott would be sitting out the day’s practice. He was not inking a new deal but instead experiencing ankle soreness, his surprise rest day being called “precautionary.”

Cowboys fans had a similar freak-out back in early July when a photo surfaced of Prescott wearing a protective boot while on vacation. After a few hours of nail-biting over whether it was evidence of some new injury or a troubling flare-up of a previous malady, the quarterback himself explained it away as basic maintenance after a couple hard days of practice.

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Prescott is already expected to sit out all three of the Cowboys’ preseason games. But after some solid work on Thursday in a joint practice with the Rams, his surgically-repaired ankle from 2020 might understandably be a little tender on Friday.

Prescott told reporters after the Rams scrimmage, “I could play a game right now.”

Maybe not, as it turned out. And he’ll take the day off instead to rest his ankle.

But his signing hand was free. And for a few glorious, hope-filled minutes to close out the week, that’s what Cowboys fans were far more focused on.

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Stephen Jones: ‘Zero thought process in not having CeeDee being a Dallas Cowboy’

From @ToddBrock24f7: Stephen offered a calm counterpoint to Jerry’s comments regarding the All-Pro WR’s contract status, giving fans hope that a deal is coming.

While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was riling up the fanbase with his flippant comments about the lack of urgency in getting a new deal done with All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, his son Stephen was telling a slightly different story.

The younger Jones, the team’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, made it clear that the Cowboys are in no way preparing for life without Lamb.

“Zero thought process in not having CeeDee being a Dallas Cowboy,” he told Ed Werder and Matt Mosely on Thursday on The Doomsday Podcast.

But then, with his very next words, he immediately reminded the world that Lamb is already locked in for 2024.

“CeeDee can’t go play anywhere. He’s under contract, and we have franchise tags available, so CeeDee’s not going to be playing anywhere but Dallas. But we want this to be a great situation for him when we’re all said and done, but also a great situation so we can put a great football team on the field.”

Stating Lamb’s contractual status in such stark terms won’t win any brownie points, but it’s the cold, hard truth.

And the other 90 guys who are actually in camp were, in fact, more of a focus this week as the team made a procedural roster move that raised a few eyebrows. Lamb was placed on the Reserved/Did Not Report list on Tuesday, but Jones explained that the purpose of the re-designation was to open a temporary spot for a defensive depth player, and that nothing more should be read into it.

“I don’t think it says anything,” he said. “We just knew we had that roster spot, and when [Lamb] reports- which we certainly believe he will, at some point- hopefully with a new contract. We continue to make progress. Things are very cordial.”

Cordial, perhaps, because nothing at all has really happened of late. Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Lamb’s agent has been in Paris at the Olympics and just returned to the States.

It’s possible, then, that the lack of urgency has been on both sides of the negotiating table.

Jones admitted that Lamb’s extended no-show means the timing between him and quarterback Dak Prescott may have taken a minor hit, but he knows that the two have put in work together over the offseason. And with their connection entering its fifth year, it’s not like they’re just getting to know one another on the football field.

The upside, Jones says, is that the team’s younger wide receivers- including Ryan Flournoy, Jalen Cropper, David Durden, Tyron Billy-Johnson, and Jalen Brooks- have gotten reps they might not have seen otherwise. That will only help the club with whichever pass-catchers eventually make the regular-season roster.

But coming to new financial terms with the team’s trio of superstars is nevertheless high on the front office’s to-do list, Jones maintains.

“It’s a great situation to have, but it’s challenging when you have one of the top quarterbacks in the league and then you’ve got two of the best non-quarterback players in the league, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb.

“It’s a negotiation that we’re obviously having to work hard at because you also, at the end of the day, want to be able to put some other players [on the field]. Those three guys can’t go out and play the game by themselves.”

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Of course, most Cowboys fans will quickly point out that without any of those three players in uniform and on the field, the team’s chances of winning games on anything resembling a regular basis absolutely craters.

The stage seems set for a late-camp announcement on a new deal for Lamb, similar to the one that brought guard Zack Martin back to Oxnard in mid-August of last year, or the record-breaking extension that running back Ezekiel Elliott signed in September 2019 after an even longer holdout (that itself seemed rather contentious, at least until Jones and Elliott were peddling T-shirts making fun of that whole “Zeke Who?” saga).

There’s still plenty of time for a deal to happen. The Cowboys are notorious for delaying as long as possible, dominating the summer news cycle with breathless will-they-or-won’t-they conjecture and then swooping in to look like heroes right before things get real, both saving their cash-cow players (who weren’t going to play in the preseason anyway) from any possible exposure to injury and using the break to develop their newbies.

And this time, it’s Stephen Jones who is suddenly the voice of reason, giving Cowboys fans cause to hope that the offseason of dragging their feet has simply been part of a larger plan.

“It’s certainly something that’s very doable, and we plan on doing it, because we want all three players here and we think we have the best chance to win a championship by having those three players on our roster.”

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Cowboys’ Lamb replies to Jones’ nonchalant contract approach in 3 letters

Jones said his piece to a gaggle of reporters. Lamb made things social. | From @KDDrummondNFL

This is fine.

The Dallas Cowboys are getting ready to play their first exhibition game of 2024 this coming weekend. On Thursday, they hosted their opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, in a practice scrimmage, to give both sides the opportunity to test themselves against someone in a different uniform. After two-plus weeks of training camp practices things are starting to heat up. Except, apparently, in the negotiaiton room between the Cowboys and star wideout CeeDee Lamb.

Lamb, holding out all offseason in hopes of securing a contract extension, is set to cross the $1.5 million fine threshold once the timer runs out leading up to the game. Dallas has already placed him on the Reserved/Did Not Report list, opening up his spot on the 90-man offseason roster.

He’s integral to the Dallas passing offense, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2023, and has seen numerous fellow wideouts earn lucrative contracts this offseason. There’s no knowing what Lamb is asking for, either in guaranteed money nor in average salary or contract length, but the market says he’s worth around $35 million a season and around $110 million guaranteed.

Whatever the ask is, owner Jerry Jones is scoffing at it; publicly.

On Thursday, Jones was asked about the status of negotiations and instead of giving a stock answer, he chose to continue negotiating in public, saying he sees no “urgency to get it done.”

Question from Reporter 2: “Is there a sense of urgency as you begin the preseason to get CeeDee done?”

Answer from Jones: “No.”

Question from Reporter 2: “Why do you say that?”

Answer from Jones: “Just uh (long pause)… I went to high school. I went to college. I don’t know why I said it. I’m just saying… I don’t know… (laughing) I don’t have a sense of urgency about getting it done. Pick any reason you want. I was at Nobu two days ago, give that as a reason. Whatever you want, put it out there.” – via Nick Harris on DallasCowboys.com

Yikes.

Lamb, who hasn’t spoken much, if at all, this offseason about the negotiations, replied.

Double yikes.

The Cowboys and Jones are no strangers to negotiating in public, and the club has clearly drawn lines in the sand about their current roster.

Jones and company did little to augment their roster in free agency, avoiding the usual in-house extensions or re-signings, and have a ton of players and coaches on the final years of their deals.

Lamb can still accrue another $2.2 million in forgivable fines before the regular season starts.

Once that happens, he will have six weeks to report or else his contract, which will pay him $17.991 million before these fines, tolls. That means the same parameters of this final contract year will become the contract for 2025.

As it stands, even if Lamb reports the club can place the franchise tag on him for next season.

Jake Ferguson continuing to ascend in Cowboys’ offense

Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson is having a strong training camp and is continuing his ascension in the team’s offense. | From @BenGrimaldi

Training camp is often a time where observations tend to be geared towards rookies, position battles, and pet cats. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t notice when a player continues to grow into a better version of himself.

That looks like it’s happening with Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.  Despite all the eyes on some of the relatively unknown players who are making an impression, the third-year man is going about his business of improving and becoming an even bigger part of the offense. After a breakout season in 2023, the Cowboys are intent on ensuring that happens.

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was asked about Ferguson’s progression in Year 3 and he spoke very highly of the young TE.

“If you watch this guy and his leadership, and he’s found his voice in that room, he’s so well respected. He’s a tone setter. How does he do it again, don’t change…The thing with Jake is he doesn’t want to get bored with the little things. It’s those little fundamentals that he’s training each day with LW (tight ends coach Lunda Wells) that’s going to make him a great player. And again, we’re moving him around. We’re doing some different things with him. You’ll see him playing some fullback and doing things that are new for him just because we want to be versatile this year with all of our pieces.”

That sounds like a player who is becoming a leader, as well as continuing to ascend in the offense. Much has been made about who will step up as the third receiver in the passing game, but Ferguson is already cemented in his role as a top option for quarterback Dak Prescott. Ferguson was second in targets and catches last season, and he should be able to expand on his numbers heading into his second year as the starting TE. After taking over for former TE Dalton Schultz, Ferguson caught 71 passes, for 761 yards and five scores, proving the offense was in good hands at the position.

In camp, Ferguson has continued to show his progress. Prescott connected with Ferguson on a Mojo Moment for a touchdown, and the combination is clicking early in camp.

The Cowboys have a deep TE room and Ferguson couldn’t rest on his laurels, so he needed to prove he wasn’t a one-year wonder. After selecting TE Luke Schoonmaker in the second round of the 2023 draft, Ferguson has to play well to keep his grasp on the starting job. So far in camp, mission accomplished.

Training camp can be mundane, and the focus can sometimes get shifted to the lesser known players or the fun stories that develop along the way. While that’s been happening, don’t forget the steady play and continuing improvement from some of the other guys who are expected to play big roles for the Cowboys in 2024.

Jake Ferguson falls into that category and his ascension into a centerpiece of the offense is something to watch in training camp.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi

Cowboys rookie DT Justin Rogers standing out as a critical defender

Justin Roger’s hot start is important for the Cowboys defense because he plays such a critical role. | From @ReidDHanson

By the time the seventh round of the draft rolls around, teams are just throwing darts. The plug-and-play blue chip prospects are long gone, as are the role players and the wild cards. Developmental prospects are the name of the game late Day 3 and players with NFL traits are often the targets.

The Cowboys saw one of those players in Auburn defensive tackle Justin Rogers when they drafted him with their final pick. At 6-foot-2, 340-pounds, Rogers fits the profile of an NFL nose tackle. Strong and stout, he packs a punch. Maintaining a low center of gravity, he’s capable of maintaining balance against double-team blocks in a way needed to play a 0-1 technique effectively.

Over the offseason, the Cowboys bid adieu to Johnathan Hankins, their previous man in the middle. Hankins was serviceable in that DT role, but he was far from irreplaceable. Hoping to save money, the Cowboys clearly hoped a young player like Rogers, playing on a rookie deal, could take over that key run-stopping role inside. Early returns in camp say he’s doing just that.

While Mazi Smith dominates most fan attention and media headlines, it’s Rogers that looks the part of the run-stopper. Smith projects as the starting 1-tech in Mike Zimmer’s defense but on critical short yardage downs it’s Rodgers who looks like the top option.

It’s a situation Dallas desperately needed to transpire because options inside are extremely limited. If Smith and Rogers couldn’t combine to fill the needs at 1-tech, the Cowboys would likely be forced to look outside the roster for answers.

 

As the Cowboys move into preseason action, the play of Rogers and Smith will be closely watched. It’s still highly possible an outside player will be added once teams are forced to cutdown to 53 on August 27, but until that time arrives, it’s good to see a seventh-round rookie like Rogers stepping up into the much-needed role.

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If Trey Lance is struggling with Cowboys system, Cowboys should tweak the system

Trey Lance needs more seasoning than the Cowboys can provide but a tweak to system could improve things immediately. | From @ReidDHanson

By most accounts, Trey Lance is not off to the start he was hoping for in Cowboys training camp. He’s struggled to deliver the ball with anticipation, he’s floated passes on a regular basis, and he’s misread coverage, leading to frustrating interceptions. Perhaps Dallas will look to change their approach with him.

These struggles are by no means a departure from the norm for Lance. The former No. 3 overall pick has struggled to live up to his draft status since joining the NFL four years ago. Acquired in a late summer trade with the 49ers last season, Lance has largely been developing in the background in both San Francisco and Dallas.

Over the past few months, the Cowboys decided to rebuild the 24-year-old from the ground up. After declining his fifth-year option for 2025, they have been dedicated to seeing what they have in the young signal caller before further commitments were made. Lance has already taken a high number of snaps as a back-up in camp, giving fans their first clear view of him since joining the squad almost a year ago. The results aren’t very inspiring.

Lance looks like a player who doesn’t have much experience. With only a handful of games under his belt in the NFL and just one full season of action in college, Lance is far rawer than the average fourth-year veteran. He has a physical skillset that says franchise passer but the kind of experience that makes a back-up job a stretch.

It should be no surprise he’s struggled executing in the Cowboys’ relatively sophisticated offense. While Kyle Shanahan’s attack in San Francisco is based on play design, movement, and misdirection, Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys offense is more about pre-snap reads and progressions. Dak Prescott, one of the NFL’s very best in these two aspects of the game, operates the system flawlessly. Lance, not so much.

But instead of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, what if the Cowboys try to provide a square hole?

Unless he’s thrown into fire for a season or two, Lance will likely never fully grasp the quarterback position on the Cowboys. He needs seasoning and the Cowboys just don’t have the required seasoning to give. Tweaking the system, on the other hand, could make things easier on the young greenhorn.

By adding more read-options and run-pass options, they can simplify the decision-making process for Lance. It will shrink the field and make things more instinctual for Lance.

At 6-foot-4, 226-pounds, Lance is big enough to handle a more physical role at QB. He’s not a burner but he’s more than capable of being a dual threat as a read-option QB. A traditional RPO system, which asks the QB either to hand off or pass to a specific downfield option, wouldn’t even require him to be a runner. It’s a one-read attack that puts defenses in conflict. These systems are somewhat gimmicky, but they are popular alternatives for a reason.

Since most colleges use a degree of zone-read and RPO in their playbooks, the supportive players on the Cowboys roster wouldn’t have much of a problem adapting to a tweaked playbook for Lance’s snaps. Plenty of NFL teams alter their offense to fit the strengths of their respective passer, so this wouldn’t be any different.

It’s hard to look at Lance practice these days and think he’ll ever be a good option at QB for Dallas. Cooper Rush seems head and shoulders above him at QB2 and unless something changes in the scheme, that’s something that’s likely to continue.

An RPO-heavy scheme with read-option mixed in could be just what the doctor ordered for Lance. It wouldn’t take major effort to incorporate in a simple form and would better play to Lance’s strengths while masking his weaknesses.

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Report: Cowboys RB Deuce Vaughn dealing with hamstring injury

From @ToddBrock24f7: The diminutive running back has missed two practices with the issue, which could eventually impact his chances of making the 53-man roster.

The Cowboys’ running back platoon feels perilously thin, with an injury to any member of the rotation being the last thing the offense needs to deal with.

And yet here we are, with news emerging Friday that second-year man Deuce Vaughn has been sidelined the past two days with a hamstring injury. ESPN’s Todd Archer was the first to report the development out of Oxnard.

A sixth-round pick last spring, the 5-foot-5 Vaughn failed to live up to the hype that came with his emotional draft-day selection. The electrifying Kansas State product touched the ball just 30 times over seven game appearances, amassing a grand total of 80 combined rushing and receiving yards as a rookie.

Dallas placed him on injured reserve in early January with an ankle injury.

But with Tony Pollard now in Tennessee, 2024 would provide a fresh opportunity to share snaps with Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Royce Freeman, and others. Vaughn had even reportedly been taking snaps as a slot receiver, working on his route-running and pass-catching skills in anticipation of perhaps being used creatively in Mike McCarthy’s offense.

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Some might also speculate that Vaughn’s receiver work is a signal that he’s showing minimal viability as a dedicated NFL running back, and the team is simply looking to see if he offers enough value at a second position to warrant a roster spot.

Neither the cause nor the severity of the injury is known, but hamstring maladies are notorious for lingering, and Vaughn’s inability to practice- especially as the Cowboys near their preseason games- likely won’t help his chances of making the team’s 53-man roster.

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Cowboys waive WR whose knee issues interrupted strong training camp

The Cowboys brought in two receivers earlier in camp and now are adding two defenders. Down roster players with injuries suffer in these situations. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Corey Crooms was waived from the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, as they looked to create room for two new signings on the defensive line. Needing help after losing defensive end Sam Williams to an ACL tear, Dallas is signing Shaka Toney and Al-Quadin Muhammad.

Crooms, a Minnesota product who went undrafted in this year’s haul, was fighting to catch on to the 53-man roster or the practice squad, but a leg injury slowed him in recent days.

Croom began his collegiate career at Western Michigan before transferring in 2023. In his lone season with the Gophers he hauled in 28 passes for 376 but was held out of the end zone.

The 5-foot-11, 187 pound receiver had 57 receptions for 814 yards and five scores in 2022 for Western Michigan.

In a pre-draft interview with EAMG Sports, Crooms voiced his desire to find success in the pros to give back to his community.

“Whether it’s a camp or just making something around the neighborhood where kids can go to play football and work on their skills,” shared Crooms, “be able to give back to my neighborhood and let them see me at the highest stage because it gives them hope that they can do it too.”

Dallas still has 12 receivers in camp after signing Deontay Burnett and Kelvin Harmon last week. CeeDee Lamb continues his holdout, not having attended any of Dallas’ offseason activities. In the meantime, Brandin Cooks is the veteran leader as players such as Jalen Tolbert, Kavontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks and Jalen Moreno-Cropper battle for a spot on the big roster.

Other hopefuls such as sixth-round pick Ryan Flournoy, dealing with his own leg issues in camp, hope to break up the group and wedge their way into the rotation.

Report: Cowboys sign veteran DE, expected to add second after Thursday workout

From @ToddBrock24f7: Al-Quadin Muhammad has 12 sacks and 157 tackles on his NFL resume; Shaka Toney is an ex-teammate of Micah Parsons who played in Washington.

The Cowboys wasted little time bringing in backup after third-year defensive end Sam Williams was lost for the 2024 season with an ACL injury. After a Thursday workout with the team, veteran Al-Quadin Muhammad has been officially signed by Dallas, and another familiar name at the position- Shaka Toney- is expected to be added as well.

Muhammad, 29, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Saints in 2017 out of the University of Miami. He played only sparingly during his rookie season in New Orleans and then landed with the Colts, where he made 64 regular-season game appearances (and three more in the playoffs) from 2018 to 2021.

His most recent action came in 2022, playing in 16 games for the Bears. He returned to the practice squad in Indianapolis last year but did not see the field.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound Muhammad has 12 sacks, 33 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, 157 tackles, and 23 tackles for loss on his NFL résumé.

ESPN insider Adam Schefter first reported the news of Muhammad’s signing by the Cowboys, saying it would be a one-year deal for the New Jersey native.

News that Toney was also expected to be added to the camp roster came shortly thereafter.

Toney was also part of the group of four defensive ends invited for that Thursday workout in Oxnard, along with Carl Lawson and Justin Hollins.

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A seventh-round draft pick by Washington in 2021, Toney had been a college teammate of Micah Parsons at Penn State. He recorded 1.5 sacks and 16 tackles in 26 game appearances over two seasons in D.C., where he played under assistant coach Jeff Zgonina, now with the Cowboys.

Toney was suspended by the league for betting on NFL games during the 2022 season; he was reinstated in April of this year.

“We were actually talking about these guys before Sam’s injury,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Thursday, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, “so we would definitely like to hopefully add one.”

Now they’ve added two.

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‘Even better than me’: Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence sees bright future for rookie protege

From @ToddBrock24f7: Lawrence says he has high hopes for rookie DE Marshawn Kneeland and previews the new Dallas defense under coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Entering his 11th NFL season, Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence is now one of the team’s elder statesmen. But that doesn’t mean the 32-year-old father of four has turned into the de facto team dad when it comes to motivating his younger defensive coworkers.

“Early in my career, I had a lot of rah-rah with me,” Lawrence said this week at Cowboys training camp in Oxnard. “I do that at home with the kids, so I’m not trying to come up here and holler at grown men. It’s really more a calming role: try to lead by teaching, going through the steps with the guys instead of trying to push them.”

A calming role? From someone with 58.5 sacks and over 400 career tackles?!?

The four-time Pro Bowler knows he has a responsibility to mentor those behind him on the depth chart to the same kind of on-the-field impact. That facet of his job will take on even more importance now that third-year breakout candidate Sam Williams has been lost to a season-ending injury.

Second-round draft pick Marshawn Kneeland will be expected to step up in a big way. And Lawrence already likes what he sees from the just-turned 23-year-old.

“He has a lot of ambition, grit with his game,” Lawrence admired. “His fundamentals are pretty clean, especially for a rookie. It’s a high ceiling for him. I’m going to keep working with him as much as I can. I definitely think he’s going to evolve into something even better than me.”

That’s a very high bar for Kneeland to aim for. The similarities between Lawrence and Kneeland are obvious, though. Both are listed at 6-foot 3. Both came from schools that aren’t exactly blue-blood powerhouse programs. Both were drafted by Dallas in the second round, almost 10 years apart to the day.

But the “DeMarcus Lawrence 2.0” moniker that some have already adopted for Kneeland? The beta version isn’t buying it.

“Not as much as y’all say,” Lawrence laughed. “Me is me. God didn’t make too many DeMarcus Lawrences, you know? At least that I know of. But Marshawn definitely has some instinctive play to his style. He’s down, dirty, gritty. He’s 275; I never played at 275, so it’s definitely a little difference, but I like the grit about him.”

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That grit should endear Kneeland to both Cowboys fans and his new defensive coordinator. Early reviews on what Mike Zimmer has brought to the unit already hint at what should be a noticeable change from Dan Quinn’s Dallas defenses of the past three years.

Lawrence confirmed it.

“With DQ, it was more about speed, using our speed to set up linemen. This year with Coach Z, it’s really details, working on our details, our fundamentals, staying in our gap, controlling our space, and we work our speed through that.”

And while Quinn was fiercely loved by his Cowboys players, Zimmer brings an uncompromising demand for excellence that made Lawrence practically light up when talking about him.

“He really cares about ball. It’s actually dope to have a coach that is not going to settle for nothing else but the best out of you.”

Sounds like a father figure, something about which Lawrence knows plenty.

Kneeland may be speaking about his own defensive mentor- Lawrence- in the same kind of revered tone very soon.

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