The Dallas Cowboys had three free agent cornerbacks entering the offseason, losing Byron Jones on the first day of free agency to a mammoth deal with the Miami Dolphins. While there was talk of bringing in Chris Harris, Jr., formerly of the Denver Broncos, the club seemed to bow out of that process relatively quickly.
On Wednesday, the official start of the league year, the club made not one, but two moves to shore up the important position, including bringing back one of their own. The team has worked out a three-year agreement for Anthony Brown to return while also signing external free agent Maurice Canady.
#Cowboys have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with CB Maurice Canady, source says. Had three starts in 13 games with the #Jets and #Ravens last year.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 18, 2020
The Cowboys are bringing back cornerback Anthony Brown on a three-year deal, according to a source. Brown was limited to nine games last season because of a triceps injury. A sixth-round pick in 2016, Brown has four interceptions and three sacks, while… https://t.co/siIiblABH3
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) March 18, 2020
Brown returns to the club for his fifth season, after being a Day 3 draft pick in the team’s vaunted 2016 haul. Primarily a slot corner, Brown was off to a great start in his first two years, but didn’t seem to take to the coaching style of DB coach Kris Richard, who joined the club in 2018. His regression was strong, and led many fans to clamor for Jourdan Lewis, who eventually took the starting spot from Brown before the latter was ruled out for the season due to injury.
Brown played just nine games in 2019 and was placed on injured reserve on November 20 after season-ending surgery on his arm.
For his career Brown has four interceptions, three sacks as a crafty slot blitzer and 32 passes defenses. The Purdue product has started 32 of the 54 games he’s appeared in.
As for Canady, he was also a 2016 draft product, drafted 20 picks after Brown in the sixth round as well. The former Baltimore product spent last season playing for both the Ravens and New York Jets.
He has just four career starts and spent a lot of time bouncing back and forth on the Ravens roster between IR stints. He was picked up on waivers by the Jets last November.
An interesting note, the Ravens must have liked him to some degree as not once but twice they used one of their two in-season IR activations on him, in 2017 and 2018.
The former Virginia Cavaliers baller stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 219 pounds. Pro Football Focus graded him a top 30 corner in his limited snaps (393) for the 2019 season.
He had one interception, one forced fumble and five PBUs in limited time.
The Cowboys did not find a replacement for Jones, yet, but they did shore up the depth portion of their positional needs. For now, Brown will be part of the top-3 rotation with Lewis and de facto No. 1 corner Chidobe Awuzie, while Canady looks to replace C.J. Goodwin as the fifth corner.
In a related move, the Cowboys released CB Donovan Olumba on Wednesday.
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