The Cowboys’ safety room has turned into a weekly emergency, and Dallas may not have much choice but to keep shopping.
What started as a revamped secondary built around Caleb Downs and a new-look coaching setup under Christian Parker has been hit hard by injuries. The problems began right away when Malik Hooker was hurt in Week 1, forcing P.J.
Locke into a larger role. Then Locke got injured in the next game and landed on IR.
Jalen Thompson was supposed to steady things, but he went down in Week 3 down in Rio de Janeiro and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
That leaves Dallas thin again, even if Hooker is able to return for the All-Texas Week 4 matchup against the Houston Texans. Stephen Jones has already said the Cowboys need to add at safety, and the list of realistic options is short.
One name that stands out is Caleb Ransaw of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He’s buried behind Antonio Johnson and Eric Murray, so he hasn’t played much, but Dallas could still see a fit.
Ransaw was a third-round pick last year and had a strong preseason, even if the breakout Jacksonville wanted hasn’t come yet. He can handle both safety spots, move into the nickel, and help on special teams, which gives him a lot of value for a team scrambling for depth.
Another possibility is Cole Wisniewski, who is currently on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad. He was the backbone of Texas Tech’s defense last year and is available now after dealing with injuries.
When healthy, he showed well in training camp and the preseason. Wisniewski is mostly a deep safety, but he’s also big and physical enough to play in the box and contribute as a run defender.
He can also help on special teams, which only adds to his appeal.
Donovan McMillon of the Cleveland Browns is in a similar situation to Ransaw. He’s stuck behind Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman Jr., and the Browns also have rookie Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the mix.
That could make McMillon available. Dallas could be interested in a young safety who got a little game experience last year and seemed to take another step this preseason.
He can play deep or in the box, brings a sturdy frame, and should be relatively cheap to acquire.
If the Cowboys want the easiest veteran answer, Donovan Wilson is the free agent option. It would not exactly feel like a splash move, but the market is so bare that he may be the best realistic veteran left.
He already knows the building, Schottenheimer and some teammates, which makes the transition simple. Wilson wasn’t at his best in Dallas last year, but he still offers a known commodity at a spot where the Cowboys badly need one.
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For Dallas, the timing matters because the next stretch already includes games against the Texans and Buccaneers, so any easing of the early pressure is welcome. A first-time starter can still make life interesting, but the Cowboys will go into this one with a better sense that the job just got a little less daunting than it looked before Mayfield went down. [Read more 🡒]