The Dallas Cowboys are working on getting their roster trimmed as all NFL teams need to have it at the mandatory 53-man maximum by later this week. There are a number of decisions that still need to be made, but signing other players isn’t out of the question. Thanks to some injuries and the possibility of more, the Cowboys may be looking to bring in wide receiver Wes Welker as insurance.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Cowboys cut a few more players to get down to 75 players as mandated by the league. As reported by Blogging The Boys , the players released weren’t huge surprises.
– TE Brandon Barden – WR Antwan Goodley – WR David Porter – LB Jonathan Brown
Players cut on Monday were:
– WR Phil Bates – CB Robert Steeples – DT Carliff Taylor – LS Casey Kreiter – P Tom Hornsey
Another move made by the Cowboys was placing cornerback Orlando Scandrick on injured reserve. That makes him gone for the year and officially opens up an extra roster spot that the Cowboys can fill as needed.
That spot could end up being filled by wide receiver Wes Welker. Oddly enough, he is still without a home and has been sitting on the free agent market for months now. It is expected that a team will pick him up at some point as injuries begin to show up.
Star wide receiver Dez Bryant has missed a bit of training camp this season, and it’s due to a hamstring strain. The Dallas Cowboys official website states that the team is taking no chances with his injury and won’t risk damaging it further.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hopes to have him back for the season opener on September 13 against the New York Giants. He’s been doing some conditioning, but hasn’t been practicing at full speed for a few weeks now.
Signing Welker would help give some insurance to the Cowboys in case their star receiver isn’t fully healed by the regular season. While he wouldn’t be able to replace the athleticism, talent, and numbers of Bryant, Welker is great slot receiver with a lot of game left in him.
Sports World Report says that the Green Bay Packers are seriously looking at signing Welker as well. After losing Jorday Nelson (torn ACL) for the season and Randall Cobb dealing with a shoulder sprain, their wide receiving corps is hurting.
Dez Bryant may well be ready for the regular season, and that is what the Dallas Cowboys are hoping for. If not, Wes Welker is looking for work, but he may not be waiting too much longer.
[Image via Getty Images – Maddie Meyer]