Cowboys Trade Ben Bass To Patriots For CB Justin Green

It has been reported by DallasCowboys.com that the Cowboys have sent defensive lineman Ben Bass to the New England Patriots in exchange for cornerback Justin Green.

The move was not really expected, but upon examination, it does have several things about it that make a good bit of sense. Obviously, the recent news about Orlando Scandrick having to serve a four game suspension because he took the drug commonly called Molly to enhance his non-football performance, plus the various health and personal issues in the secondary, make a cornerback a fairly valuable commodity for the Cowboys. Bass, on the other hand, was looking more and more like he was going to be a casualty of his injury problems. With new faces like Dartwan Bush and Davon Coleman starting to show up in practices, Bass was unlikely to find a place on the 53-man roster this year.

Meanwhile, Green brings one trait to the table that always gets a little notice.

Green is a former high school track star who clocked a 4.42 40 at his college pro day

— Clarence Hill (@clarencehilljr) August 12, 2014

A little more info on him:

Scout who studied #Cowboys CB Justin Green: "Tough, physical, competes. Above avg movement skills. Back-end guy with special teams value."

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 12, 2014

This is, as our Landon McCool (@McCoolBTB) noted on Twitter, a very Will McClay-type move. Nothing big or flashy, just a way to increase the value of the roster slightly. Green and Bass also had some things in common, in that both were UDFA players who have flashed at times. No real cost to do, and it may be a move that is best for both players and both teams involved (although any trade with Bill Belichick is slightly scary). It will be interesting to see how far the two UDFAs go in their new situations.