HEADLINES

Josh Ball

OL Notes: Smith, Texans, Rams, Bears

September 6th, 2023 at 11:17am CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys are going with a “best five” configuration up front, shifting course months after Jerry Jones discussed a plan of keeping Tyler Smith at tackle. Smith is back at guard, but he may not be a lock to start the season on time. The second-year blocker suffered a hamstring strain, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Jones expects Smith to play in Week 1; the 2022 first-round pick did not miss a game last season. Dallas has lost its starting left guard in free agency in each of the past two offseasons, seeing Connor Williams and Connor McGovern defect to the AFC East.

One of the backup options, Josh Ball, is on IR. Ball is battling hip and groin pain, and the Morning News’ Michael Gehlken notes he is expected to miss around two months. A 2021 fourth-rounder, Ball is not expected to need surgery. The Cowboys kept eight O-linemen, with rookies Asim Richards and T.J. Bass joining Chuma Edoga as backups.

Here is the latest from NFL O-lines:

  • Texans right tackle Tytus Howard returned to practice earlier this week, working out with a cast on his injured left hand. While the fifth-year lineman is on the verge of returning, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes George Fant is expected to play in place of Howard in Week 1. Howard, who signed a Texans extension in July, underwent surgery to repair a broken hand in early August. Fant worked as a regular Jets starter — at left and right tackle — throughout the 2020 and ’21 seasons; injuries limited him to seven games last year.
  • Josh Jones filled in for D.J. Humphries as the Cardinals’ left tackle last season, but the recently traded blocker is back at guard. The Texans have Jones in place as their starting left guard going into the season, Wilson tweets. Jones is replacing 2022 first-rounder Kenyon Green, who is on season-ending IR. Jones spent the 2021 season as a primary Cardinals starting guard. The Texans will also be without center Juice Scruggs to start the season; the second-rounder is on short-term IR with a hamstring injury.
  • The Rams gave Joseph Noteboom a three-year, $40MM deal to replace Andrew Whitworth in 2022, but after another season-ending injury, Whitworth’s would-be heir apparent lost his job. The Rams are going with Alaric Jackson at left tackle, per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, who adds Noteboom is back at guard (subscription required). Noteboom worked at guard early in his career and was mentioned as a guard option this offseason, but he had played on the outside since becoming Los Angeles’ swing tackle in 2020. The Rams also added Kevin Dotson from the Steelers, and while Dotson has started 30 career games (including 17 last year), Rodrigue adds the team views him as a depth piece. A former UDFA, Jackson started six games last season before becoming one of the many Ram blockers forced off the field due to health issues. Blood clots ended Jackson’s 2022 slate.
  • Previously set to shift back to center, Cody Whitehair is at guard to start his eighth Bears season. Teven Jenkins‘ injury will shift Whitehair to left guard and Lucas Patrick to center, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune notes. Recent trade acquisition Dan Feeney is in place as Chicago’s backup center. Jenkins is on IR to start the season. Whitehair spent the past four seasons at guard but began his career with three slates at center. Patrick has played both guard and center. The 2022 free agency addition was ticketed to start at center last season, but injuries limited the ex-Packer to seven games.

Cowboys Set 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 5:36pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys were busy today, with the organization announcing 36 roster moves as they reduced their team to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

  • OT Josh Ball
  • WR David Durden
  • LB DeMarvion Overshown
  • TE John Stephens Jr.

According to Nick Harris of the team website, both long snapper Trent Sieg and cornerback C.J. Goodwin are expected to rejoin the active roster once the dust settles from this initial round of cuts.

Quinton Bohanna spent the past two years in Dallas after being selected in the sixth round of the 2021 draft. He got into 27 games (10 starts) over the past two years, collecting 29 tackles while playing both on defense and special teams. The Cowboys added first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith this offseason, making Bohanna expendable.

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Addresses G Zack Martin’s Holdout

August 12th, 2023 at 8:41pm CST by Adam La Rose

With their preseason now officially underway, the top talking point around the Cowboys is the ongoing holdout of Zack Martin. The All-Pro guard does not appear to be close to working out a resolution with his contract status, as owner Jerry Jones recently touched on again.

The latter made it clear last month that Dallas is not interested in discussing a new deal, something Martin is seeking in the wake of the upward movement seen recently in the guard market. Two years remain on his current contract, and Jones has alluded to that fact when speaking about why the Cowboys expect him to report to the team ahead of the regular season.

Dallas also has a number of extensions on the radar, even with the likes of cornerback Trevon Diggs and safety Malik Hooker signing multi-year deals this offseason. A number of other high-profile players (including wideout CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott) are either eligible for a second contract or need years added onto their existing one for the sake of smoothing out cap charges. As a result, no traction has been made on the Martin front.

When asked if he is surprised that is the case, Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota (on Twitter), “Not really. Surprised is really not the word there. It’s very costly. That’s just where we are. There are huge, significant ramifications happening here by anybody’s measure, financially. So , you realize that not having him here, it could happen [via injury] on the next play. You got to put that one on and say you just move on here without him. You say that sounds like a concern. No, I’m just trying to give you how you really have to look at it.”

Martin has remained one of the league’s top O-lineman at any position throughout his Cowboys career. That included Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in 2022, adding to his case for a raise commensurate with the new financial landscape of the guard position. With a number of other producers whose Dallas tenures are not accounted for, though, a firm stance is also understandable from the team’s perspective.

“It’s not about precedent, it’s about facts,” Jones added, via Sports Illustrated’s Mike Fisher. “We need the money to pay [Micah] Parsons [in the future]. We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future. That’s a fact.”

Martin is accumulating $50K per day in mandatory fines, which has quickly resulted in six-figure penalties for the 32-year-old. His absence has also left the Cowboys in need of a replacement starter at the right guard spot during camp practices and today’s preseason opener. A pair of contenders are in play to win the first-team role.

Josh Ball had the inside track for the title of Martin fill-in, but former UDFA Brock Hoffman has made a case as well, per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. The latter played three games in the regular season and one in the playoffs as a rookie last year, putting him at a slight disadvantage compared to Ball. Neither option has the pedigree of Martin, though, so the status of the holdout will remain a major storyline for the foreseeable future.

Latest On Cowboys’ Left Guard Situation

May 19th, 2023 at 10:50am CST by Sam Robinson

After another free agency period featured the Cowboys’ starting left guard leaving in free agency, the team will be faced with a decision. How Dallas goes about that will determine if the team rolls out an O-line featuring its best five blockers or a group that features more positional familiarity.

Connor McGovern followed Connor Williams to the AFC East, signing with the Bills on a three-year deal worth $22.35MM. The Cowboys have Dak Prescott tied to a big-ticket deal, and Zack Martin‘s 2018 extension remains in the upper tier at guard. They are also preparing for CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs payments, making the departures of McGovern and Williams the cost of doing business.

As for how the team replaces McGovern, multiple avenues look to exist. Both involve in-house solutions, per executive VP Stephen Jones. Door A would involve a backup rising into the starting role. The Cowboys are planning to move backup tackle Josh Ball to the interior this year, and the team drafted Asim Richards in the fifth round. Former Jets third-round pick Chuma Edoga also signed with the team, after having played for the Falcons last year.

“I think we’ve got a talented group of linemen,’’ Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News’ David Moore. “I mean Josh Ball is here today. He’s certainly going to get an opportunity to compete for that spot. As we’ve said, we’re big fans of Chuma. [VP of player personnel] Will [McClay] and his pro staff did a lot of work on him. Probably the only thing holding him back in his career has been some medical challenges that he’s had. We really feel like he can come in there and help.”

A 2021 fourth-round pick, Ball has 41 career offensive snaps on his resume. Edoga 13 career starts but ahs primarily worked as a tackle. Jones also brought up Richards, North Carolina’s left tackle last season, as a potential entrant in this competition. However, he also mentioned the “best five” scenario that would bring a more intriguing configuration.

“Our top five linemen are our top five linemen. Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Terence Steele, Zack Martin,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “Really felt like if you’re gonna get your best five who have played in this league, those are our best five. We’ll see what happens from there.”

The issue with that quintet would be Steele’s lack of guard experience. The former UDFA has been a tackle with the Cowboys and at Texas Tech. But with Tyron Smith back (and expected to slide to the right tackle spot he played last season), the Cowboys do not look to have a tackle job available. The team placed a second-round RFA tender on Steele, who has made 40 starts during a three-year career, earlier this offseason. Last year’s Week 1 right tackle is also rehabbing ACL and MCL tears. That stands to delay a Cowboys decision on where to use the contract-year blocker.

A third option would be moving Tyler Smith back to left guard, where he began his career before Tyron Smith’s avulsion fracture changed the team’s plans last summer. The younger Smith played left tackle for most of last season but started two games (Week 18 and Dallas’ wild-card win) at left guard. The second-year lineman said (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) he would be fine playing anywhere on the offensive front. With Jerry Jones labeling Smith a tackle, however, the prospect of the former first-rounder playing guard at Steele staying at right tackle might be a last resort.

McGovern’s experience gave the Cowboys an easier answer to replace Williams. The team may not know its McGovern replacement for a while.

Cowboys Rumors: Parsons, Draft, Ball, Smith

May 7th, 2023 at 9:45pm CST by Ely Allen

Cowboys defensive star Micah Parsons has not been in attendance for voluntary workouts in Dallas thus far. According to Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News, this has nothing to do with any issues in his relationship with the team and is actually in service of the team.

Parsons has reportedly been in Austin attempting to bulk up in preparation for more playing time at defensive end. One of the NFL’s more versatile athletes, Parsons played mostly in the box as a rookie before spending the majority of his time last year on the line. At 245 pounds last year, Dallas staff felt he needed to add some muscle in order to better handle routine double-teams.

So, Parsons’s absence is not contract related in any way. He says he’s added about seven pounds and doesn’t intend to surpass 255 in his career. Parsons also claimed earlier that he would be in attendance for Organized Team Activities set to start in two weeks. His absence shouldn’t worry too many as he’s determined to come back stronger and even more dangerous.

Here are a few more rumors concerning the Cowboys:

  • There was reportedly another option on the table for the Cowboys when they used the 26th overall pick to select Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith in the first round of this year’s draft. According to David Moore of The Dallas Morning News, Dallas heavily considered using the pick to draft Syracuse offensive guard Matthew Bergeron, who would go on to be selected by Atlanta 12 picks later. Bergeron fit their needs due to the departure of starting guard Connor McGovern to Buffalo. They did address the offensive line later in the draft and likely still will with undrafted free agents, but many expect last year’s first rounder, Tyler Smith, to bounce into a guard spot with the healthy returns of Tyron Smith and Terence Steele, covering the role.
  • Another piece of the offensive line, Josh Ball will have some new expectations this year, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. After Ball saw extremely limited time in his first two years, mostly at tackle, head coach Mike McCarthy has stated that Ball will be asked to play on the interior this season, as well. This is perhaps another potential solution to the loss of McGovern, or it could just be a backup plan after seeing all the offensive line injuries from last season.
  • Mostly known for his career in San Francisco but last known on the field as a Cowboy, Aldon Smith recently received an update to his off-field situation. Last we heard, the troubled defender had been arrested on a felony charge of DUI causing injury, adding to the litany of issues that had resulted in a four-year suspension from the NFL. Now, according to TMZ, Smith’s arrest has led to a 12-month sentence in jail, likely ending any far-reaching hopes of a return to the NFL.

Tyron Smith Expected To Return In Week 15, Play Right Tackle

December 17th, 2022 at 1:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

TODAY, 1:15pm: Tyron Smith has indeed been activated from injured reserve, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter). The offensive lineman doesn’t have an injury status for tomorrow’s game.

FRIDAY, 3:00pm: Terence Steele‘s season-ending injury has changed the Cowboys’ plans. Rather than slide Tyron Smith back into the spot at which he earned All-Decade acclaim, the Cowboys are preparing for both their Smith blockers to line up at tackle this week.

Tyler Smith is expected to remain at left tackle, and Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News notes Dallas’ 11-year blindside starter is likely to line up on the right side against the Jaguars on Sunday. The Cowboys are planning to activate Tyron Smith from IR. He has missed the team’s first 13 games because of a torn hamstring.

The Cowboys had planned to move Tyler Smith to left guard, but Steele’s injury looks to have nixed that idea. Rather than moving a rookie off the spot he has played all season, Dallas will ask one of this era’s best left tackles to work at a position he has not played since his 2011 rookie year. Josh Ball replaced Steele in Week 14, and earlier this week, it appeared (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins, on Twitter) the plan would be for Ball and Jason Peters to rotate at right tackle. A more interesting solution appears in the cards.

Dallas has two of the most recent All-Decade team’s left tackles, in Peters and Tyron Smith, but the former has not played on the right side since 2006. Peters has transitioned to guard this season, rotating in as a backup at points prior to his right-edge cameo in Week 14. The 40-year-old blocker represents an unusual swing player, but he replaced Ball on Dallas’ game-winning drive against the Texans.

Mike McCarthy said he tried as many as five O-line combinations Thursday, though the easiest way to not disrupt continuity would be to plug in Tyron Smith and leave the other four spots unchanged. It does represent an interesting ask from the Cowboys, with Smith coming back after a near-four-month absence and being thrown into a new role. Should this not work out, however, the team has some flexibility here.

It would make for quite the interesting footnote in O-line history if two likely Hall of Fame left tackles each played on the right side in the same game. Although it is not known who will start, that could very well happen.

Cowboys Unlikely To Trade For Left Tackle?

August 26th, 2022 at 3:09pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Cowboys have very limited time to find a Tyron Smith replacement, but a few avenues by which they could acquire one. Their financial situation could make a trade viable on paper, though it appears the team will look elsewhere while evaluating their options. 

Smith is expected to be sidelined until at least December due to an avulsion fracture of the knee and subsequent hamstring tear. Dallas doesn’t have a replacement on hand with anywhere near the pedigree of the eight-time Pro Bowler, of course, but promoting from within remains an immediate solution. Playing first-round rookie Tyler Smith at left tackle – his college position – is a possibility, though he was thought to be a guard candidate early in his career. Fellow rookie Matt Waletzko and 2021 fourth-rounder Josh Ball could also step in on the blindside.

Indeed, CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson reports that the Cowboys are turning to the aforementioned “in-house players” while also “working through” potential free agent additions (Twitter link). That is in line with reporting from yesterday indicating that a signing could be coming soon. A number of veterans remain on the open market, including Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth; Anderson adds, however, that the retired 40-year-old is not among Dallas’ considerations.

Adding further to the sense that the Cowboys will not be executing a trade for a stop-gap solution, Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network tweets that the Texans are not expected to make Laremy Tunsil available to Dallas (or any other club). The two-time Pro Bowler has two years remaining on his contract, including a $17.7MM cap hit the Cowboys could absorb given their current financial situation. Beside his talent level, Wilson cites the dead cap charge (over 16.6MM) which would be generated by a trade as the reason such a move is unlikely on Houston’s end.

With final roster cuts just days away, more options could surface for the Cowboys to consider. A recent release, or an aging veteran still available remains the likeliest way the team augments its unproven stable of incumbents.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/12/22

January 12th, 2022 at 10:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s updates for the reserve/COVID-19 and practice squad/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Maxx Williams (remains on IR)

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Placed on practice squad/COVID-19 list: TE Mark Vital

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: QB Tyler Bray

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

  • Restored from practice squad/COVID-19 list: DT David Bada

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/4/22-1/5/22

January 5th, 2022 at 11:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are Tuesday and Wednesday’s activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE Jared Cook, LB Damon Lloyd (remains on IR)

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/21

December 29th, 2021 at 5:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Designated for return: OG Xavier Su’a-Filo

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

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