The NFL offseason seems like it lasts forever for those die hard fans that follow their teams every move. Sometimes, it seems like we are starving for information by this point in June. It always feels as though there's not a lot going on until now, with OTA's wrapping up and the mandatory 3 day mini-camps happening this week. But, since January all 32 teams have been very busy inking deals and waiving players to try and get prepared to dethrone the Patriots. This is what the Dallas Cowboys have been up to, as far as player acquisitions and releases.
And the hunt for next season begins.
Starting in early January, the Cowboys began buffering their roster with what they need to compete for the coveted Lombardi Trophy in the 2017-2018 season.
These are the players waived/released in January of 2017
- G Ryan Seymour and DT Shelby Harris
The following players were signed in January of 2017
- LB John Lotulelei, G Jonathon Cooper, WR Shaquelle Evans, DE Lenny Jones, G Clay Debord, G Kadeem Edwards, LB Jeremiah George, CB Sam Seamster, CB Jeremiah McKinnon, CB Duke Thomas, DB Jameil Showers, RB Rod Smith, TE Connor Hamlett, DE Zach Wood, TE Rico Gathers, and WR Andy Jones
February must of been a month of reflection because no deals were negotiated or players waived.
I guess it was all about the Patriots again. In March, the push toward the towards training camp began.
March and April brought big changes to the Dallas Cowboys locker room
In March, CB Nolan Carroll, DL's Stephen Paea and Demontra Moore, OT Byron Bell, and RB Darren McFadden inked their chances to compete for a roster spot on arguably one of the greatest franchises in NFL history.
The real winner in March was Jason Witten. The 14 year veteran inked a 4 year extension until 2021. This solidifies that Jason Witten will forever and always be a Cowboy.
Only two deals were done in April, one was the signing of S Robert Blanton and the other will be marked as the end of the Tony Romo era. On April 4, 2017, Tony Romo was released by the Cowboys and subsequently announced his move into the broadcasting booth.
The biggest thing for the month of April was the 2017 NFL Draft.
May and June: on the eve of training camp
In May all, but two of the players that were drafted signed their deals to wear the star on their helmet except and CB Jourdan Lewis. The following rookies signed with the Cowboys in May:
- CB Chidobe Awuzie, WR Noah Brown, DT Jordan Carrell, DE Taco Charlton, DT Joey Ivie, WR Ryan Switzer, CB Marquez White, and S Xavier Woods
The following players also signed in May:
- QB Austin Appleby, DT Woody Barron, WR Brian Brown, LB Keenan Gilchrist, TE Blake Jarwin, LB Joseph Jones, OT Levon Myers, DE Lewis Neal, QB Cooper Rush, G Nate Threaker, RB Jahad Thomas, and LB Lucas Wacha, DE Darnell Leslie, TE MJ McFarland, G Dan Skipper
On the other side some players were also released/waived:
- C Michael Coe, LB Jeremiah George, OT Levon Myers
June brought focus on OTA's and the 3 day mini-camp with a couple of small business deals to make.
One was release of QB Austin Appleby and QB Zac Dysert was claimed off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals.
This list does not include the players like Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr who left to find bigger and better deals for themselves during the free agency period. Many changes happen to teams on the NFL offseason. The general hope is that you are able to get a little bit better every year regardless of who comes and who goes. The buzz around The Star is incredibly positive and full of hard work.
