When Anthony Brown was carted off the Dallas sideline Sunday night, a ton of experience went with him. The seventh-year cornerback out of Purdue had played 729 defensive snaps this season, second-most among all Cowboys defenders.
Now it appears that the team will turn to second-year man Kelvin Joseph, who had been in on all of 58 defensive snaps before Sunday night, to replace him.
While signing a veteran free agent is always a possibility, head coach Mike McCarthy hinted this week that the team would prefer to stick with someone who’s already in the building.
“We have young players that need to step up,” McCarthy told reporters.
“The one thing that I’m hopeful and it’s encouraging is that our younger players have played so much throughout the season. I think if there was a point in this season that we have positioned ourselves for our young players to be ready, I think it is definitely now.”
DaRon Bland has already proven to be a good example. The rookie has seen his playing time increase dramatically since the loss of Jourdan Lewis in October. The fifth-rounder out of Fresno State turned in his best game as a pro against the Colts, snaring two interceptions in the Cowboys’ blowout win.
Dallas now hopes Joseph can chart a similar trajectory.
“Kelvin’s extremely talented. He’s done some really good things on special teams,” the coach added. “This is a huge opportunity for him, and we’re counting on him to step up.”
The Louisiana native has indeed been a major contributor on John Fassel’s unit, having been on the field for two-thirds of the special teams plays this year, third-most on the roster.
Fassel called Joseph “a good top three or five guy for us,” but he knows full well that such is the arrangement with special teams role-players. A call up to the offense or defense is always one injury away.
“I’m excited for Kelvin,” Fassel added. “That’s what I’ve always said, is when those special teams guys get opportunities to go start on O or D, I’m their biggest cheerleader, man.”
The coordinator acknowledged that Joseph will have a learning curve. Special teams generally allows for more a wide-open, seek-and-destroy style of play that won’t be tolerated in defensive coverage against opponents’ marquee receivers.
Kelvin Joseph stays tight in coverage on TD. But it's not enough, as Colts WR Alec Pierce snags impressive catch.pic.twitter.com/3Q0sWcL1Wh
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 5, 2022
Joseph currently ranks second on the team with six penalties, ranging from a face mask to unnecessary roughness to an illegal blindside block. He drew a fair catch interference call on Sunday night.
But overall, Fassel believes Joseph is ready for this opportunity.
“Very well-equipped,” he said of the Kentucky alum. “I mean, his physical tools with his change of direction, his strength, his contact balance, his ability to snap his head, stop, start. [I’m] not a defensive backs coach, but as far as the movement skills, he’s got it. We’ll just keep encouraging Kelvin to stay alive and alert in meetings — not that he isn’t — that will be the next step on continuing to become a pro: all the littlest details on your assignment, your matchup, all that stuff you’ve got to continue to hone in. If he can match his great physical skills with his growing mental skills, then you’ll see a really good defensive back.”
When speaking about Joseph’s maturation and growth on the field, though, there’s always an unspoken subtext. One that calls into question his behavior off it.
The 23-year-old was a team focus for all the wrong reasons back in the spring. After a fatal March shooting outside a Dallas club, Joseph was identified as a person of interest to police. Video footage showed someone who fit Joseph’s description (thanks to a large necklace emblazoned with Joseph’s rap name) as being part of a group of men involved.
Joseph claimed he was not the shooter but said he was a passenger in the car from which the shots were fired. After a meeting with investigators, two men from Joseph’s hometown were arrested.
The league had promised their own investigation into Joseph’s involvement, but nothing else has been made public on that front in the months since.
Joseph himself gave no interviews at all until he was threatened to be reported to the NFL for not fulfilling contractual obligations with the media. When he finally agreed to a conference call in late October, as reported by Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he refused to answer any questions about the incident and declined to offer any words whatsoever for the victim’s family.
The Cowboys stuck with Joseph then. They’ll have to lean on him now.
“He’s doing what he needs to do,” McCarthy explained. “This is a big moment for him. This is something that he’s been working at and kind of keeping his nose down. He’s played well on special teams; I know the special teams room and the coaches speak very highly of him. This is what you look for in younger players. I know the stuff off the field clearly was a challenge, but this is a time for him to take a big step.”
One cannot help but feel that McCarthy is talking about much more than coverage techniques and tackling.
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