This is hardly surprising news. According to "the sources" over at the DMN, the Dallas Cowboys have been shopping Bobby Carpenter. Considering they've had him for a few years now and haven't seen fit to play him on a regular basis, they surely must be tempted to see if they could get something in value back. The problem is they've got a severe depth problem at ILB. Yeah, I know, I keep going on about strength up the middle but we've got real depth issues at NT, ILB and S.
The Cowboys are now lining up with Bradie James and Keith Brooking as ILB's and then they have Bobby Carpenter, Steve Octavien and Matt Stewart in reserve. Yikes! Read that list of backups again. It almost makes me say we can't trade Captain Caveman. I never thought I'd say that. But if they can work some magic on draft day, or maybe sign a vet that ends up on the market, then maybe they can make a draft day swap of Carpenter for some kind of pick. At this point though, they might just be better off keeping him around for another year.
[UPDATE] I can see from some of the comments I've left the wrong impression. Trading Carpenter is not something I'm really against, he's shown nothing in his time in Dallas. Just the idea of having no real experience in the backup position worries me. I realize that it's almost certain we'll draft one, maybe two, linebackers, but it is the draft and that's never a sure thing. The guy(s) we draft will have a crash-course on the Phillips 34 and then may be called on to actually play a lot if we have an injury. Seriously though, I was trying to be a little light-hearted about not trading Carp just to show how very thin we are at the positon. [END UPDATE]
Hey, we'll finally get to hear from WP.
Head coach Wade Phillips, who was muzzled during the Senior Bowl and combine, will be available to reporters Wednesday during the NFL owners' meeting, according to a club source.
The Cowboys really are leaving Texas Stadium, but at least they're bringing an old friend along with them.
BTW, in the roll call thread, I appreciate all the kind words you guys used to talk about BTB. It really makes a blogger feel good! But this comment by staubachfan really was a nice description of this blog.
I think this is a great site. The information I get on this site is the best of any website around. It even makes me sound smart and in the know to other Cowboys fans that I talk to.
Now that makes me feel like we are accomplishing our mission here.