Tag: Stephen Guidry

Cowboys shuffle deck, waive depth WR, bringing another back

Dallas has signed journeyman wide receiver Reggie Davis to his second tour with the team, cutting 2020 opt-out Stephen Guidry to make room.

The Cowboys continue to shuffle the deck of their 2021 roster, dropping one wide receiver while picking up another with five weeks to go before training camp.

The team signed Reggie Davis late on Friday, as first reported by ESPN’s Todd Archer. It will be his second tour of duty in Dallas. The club made room for Davis by waiving Stephen Guidry.

In Davis, the Cowboys pick up a 25-year-old who has bounced around with several teams since going undrafted out of Georgia in 2017. The 5-foot-11-inch, 185 pounder has done two stints with the Falcons, plus very short stays with both Cleveland and Philadelphia. He was signed to the Cowboys’ practice squad in November 2018, where he stayed for the remainder of the season. He was back in 2019 but then released before the start of the season. He spent the past two training camps in Chicago and was on the Bears’ practice squad last year.

Guidry had signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2020, but decided to opt out of the season. He missed portions of this year’s OTAs and minicamp with an injury.

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Tank Lawrence opts in, Cowboys Covid list stops at 3

Find out which Cowboys players are opting out of the upcoming season.

The NFL, like the other recently-restarted major sports, offered players an option to opt-out, should they not want to play in the upcoming season for any number of reasons.

The deadline to opt-out was August 6 at 3 p.m. Central and many players around the league have took advantage of this new clause, including three Dallas Cowboys.

There had been discussion that DeMarcus Lawrence was considering this option, but the star defensive end whose wife recently had their first child remains in, announcing a few hours before the deadline through social media.

It’s hard to express just how important Lawrence joining the Cowboys this season will be, as there isn’t a clear starter at the opposite end position after the club lost double-digit sack artist Robert Quinn to free agency.

While none of the announcements came on deadline day, Dallas still had three players opt-out, choosing for the $150,000 loan borrowed against their 2021 salary.

The first Cowboy to withdraw was newly signed cornerback, Maurice Canady. Canady appeared in 13 games for the Jets and Ravens a year ago. The Cowboys cornerbacks were already a concern after the departure of Byron Jones, and while Canady might not have been the Cowboys number one cover man, but the 26 year-old could have provided depth and experience on both defense and special teams.

Fullback Jamize Olawale is perhaps the most notable Cowboy not joining the squad for 2020. Olawale played about 10 percent of the offensive snaps over the past two years, but was a major contributor on special teams. If the Cowboys choose to keep a fullback, it appears it may be Sewo Olonilua’s spot to lose.

Stephen Guidry, a 2020 undrafted free agent wide receiver also opted-out. A Mississippi St. product, he one of the many wide receivers who had an opportunity to claim the final spots on the depth chart. The Cowboys are able to retain Guidry’s rights for the future.

The Cowboys group of withdrawals is less significant than some other teams. For example, the Patriots had eight players opt-out, including former Pro Bowler Donta Hightower.

While on paper it looks like the Cowboys generated a few million dollars in cap space, these decisions didn’t have much impact the Dallas financial situation.

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Cowboys rookie WR Stephen Guidry opts out, won’t get financial stipend

The Cowboys have an additional player opt out from the season.

The NFL began intakes of veteran players on Tuesday, as they look to press forward in hopes there will be a 2020 season. Rookies and quarterbacks reported to team facilities last week, with the Dallas Cowboys welcoming Dak Prescott, Andy Dalton, their seven draft selections and multiple UDFAs to The Star in Frisco. The rest of the veterans are scheduled to report Tuesday to begin the series of Covid-19 tests. Each player has to test negatively three times in order to enter the facility to begin offseason work.

Thus far, the team has had one player, second-year wideout Jon’vea Johnson test positive, and he was placed on the special Covid-19-reserve list. Yesterday, free agent signing Maurice Canady was the first veteran to take advantage of the voluntary opt-out process to protect his and his family’s safety and on Tuesday a second name emerged, UDFA and Mississippi State WR Stephen Guidry.

Both players had an uphill climb to make this year’s roster, with Guidry’s task having more to do with outshining other UDFA rookies in Aaron Parker and Kendrick Rogers, as well as a litany of young veterans competing for what would likely be practice squad roles.

Opt-out players who have time in the league or were drafted are eligible for a $150,000 stipend, but as an UDFA it appears Guidry cannot collect on that money. His contract does toll to the 2021 season, so he will then be eligible to compete for a roster spot next season.

Guidry signed for a $10,000 signing bonus and received $100,000 in guaranteed 2020 base salary, which will now be his 2021 guarantee.

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