Cowboys news: As the season creeps closer, the Aldon Smith experiment is eagerly anticipated

What will the Cowboys get from pass-rusher Aldon Smith? - Todd Archer. ESPN

It was a surprise signing when the Cowboys inked Aldon Smith to a deal. No one was really sure what they would get from a player who had been out of the game for five years. So far, it looks like they struck gold.

Tyron Smith has been named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past seven seasons, and he is considered one of the best tackles, if not the best left tackle in the NFL. In past camps, he has been asked to block DeMarcus Ware and DeMarcus Lawrence, and he has come away impressed with Aldon Smith.

“Don’t really know how to describe it, but he’s a variety type of player,” Tyron Smith said. “He can bring any kind of move that he wants. You can tell that he has that experience. You can tell that he has a love for the game. Just kind of difficult how to describe him. You just never know what he’s going to bring to you.”

The Cowboys’ season opener against the Los Angeles Rams is less than two weeks away. It will be Aldon Smith’s first game in the NFL in 1,764 days. He swears he is not thinking about sacking Rams quarterback Jared Goff or going against left tackle Andrew Whitworth.

Before his first practice, Smith said he was excited and said it was surreal to be back in the NFL and with the Cowboys. However, he did not want to admit those feelings to his teammates.

“Just staying in the moment and living each day,” Smith said. “I don’t want to ever get ahead of myself. I’m grateful for every day and with that gratitude how I want to give it back is by giving and putting everything into every day and focusing 100 percent so when that day’s over I don’t look back with any regret.”

Jerry Jones: No Cause For Concern With Cooper - DallasCowboys.com Staff

Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy are assuring us that Amari Cooper is fine. Jones insisted on Tuesday that Cooper’s absence is strictly preventative.

“We have some of the most sophisticated health measuring systems in place,” Jones said. “And, so, some of them are as sophisticated as they can tell you how you’re literally, in layman’s terms, how your muscles are firing.”

He added: “If you’ve got a player that maybe has been tearing their — just been tearing it up and has been performing at an extraordinary level for him or his measureables in the background, you pull him back some because those are times you could be vulnerable to a pull. That’s come into play.”

It’s been strange to see Cooper standing on the sideline, but it hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing. With some of the starters lessening their workload, the Cowboys’ coaching staff has had an opportunity to grant more reps to guys like Cedrick Wilson and Noah Brown, who are fighting to fill out the wide receiver depth chart.

Jerry Jones: We haven’t had any direct discussions with Earl Thomas - Josh Alper, NBC Sports

Back when Earl Thomas was released by the Ravens, it seemed like only a matter of time until the Cowboys snatched him up. That hasn’t been the case, though, and Jones has been coy, if not overly vague, about their approach to the free agent.

During a radio appearance last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that the team had not ruled out a run at signing safety Earl Thomas.

The message wasn’t any different when he was on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning. Jones said that there haven’t been any direct discussions with Thomas about joining the team, but that he’s the kind of player whose name comes up when the team is talking about potential moves they could make before finalizing their roster for the regular season.

“Discussions internally, we have discussions that certainly he’s an outstanding football player. We’re sitting here at personnel time and we’re looking for ways to get better and he would be one of several that we would discuss during this particular time as we finalize this roster,” Jones said. “It would be a misleading thing to say we haven’t discussed him, it would be a misleading thing to say that we have.”

Xavier Woods’ Recent Injury Raises Serious Concerns About Cowboys’ S Depth - Brian Martin, Inside the Star

Fans’ desires to sign Earl Thomas were underscored by Xavier Woods’ minor tweak in practice recently. While Woods ended up being fine, it reminded Cowboys fans how bleak the safety position looks behind Woods.

I know what you’re probably thinking… Signing Free Agent S Earl Thomas would definitely help solidify the position. To that, there’s not an argument I could give that wouldn’t make that a true statement. Whatever reason though, the Cowboys don’t seem interested in going that route as of yet.

Sadly, that leaves the Dallas Cowboys between a rock and a hard place in my opinion. It looks as if they will stick with Darian Thompson, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and Donovan Wilson as their safeties with Xavier Woods out while they continue to cross train CBs like Daryl Worley, Reggie Robinson, and Chidobe Awuzie.

If this is indeed the plan, the Cowboys are taking a huge risk that may or may not pay off. I don’t know about you, but I would feel much more comfortable if they sign someone who could solidify the position cough cough Earl Thomas, much like they did at defensive end with Everson Griffen. For now though, I guess we’ll just have to sit back and cross our fingers that everything will work itself out.

Emmitt Smith on Dak Prescott contract: Cowboys will ruin team chemistry if they ‘try to mess with him’ - Patrik Walker, CBS Sports

Dak Prescott is going to play the 2020 season on the franchise tag and hope he can get a long term deal with the Cowboys next offseason, but it takes two to dance that dance. Emmitt Smith cautioned about the blowback the Cowboys could face if they don’t handle it right.

Smith told the Cowboys earlier this offseason they ”can’t play chicken” with Prescott, and has yet another warning for them as they ready for their Sept. 13 opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Never one to bite his tongue, Smith says the fate of the entire locker room is at stake when it comes to contract negotiations with Prescott.

“If you try to mess with Dak Prescott, trying to mess with him mentally, try to mess with him from a financial standpoint — you’re going to effect the whole chemistry of that entire team,” Smith said on a recent episode of Tiki and Tierney, CBS Sports Radio/CBS Sports Network. “That’s one of the things I’ve seen many coaches, organizations, and owners do too often and just destroy the chemistry of a ball-club. I’ve seen it happen and I don’t think they need to do that with Dak.”

Mailbag: CeeDee’s Camp Compared To Dez In 2010? - Nick Eatman & Rob Phillips, DallasCowboys.com

CeeDee Lamb is the first receiver to wear 88 since Dez Bryant, and as such he’s getting a lot of comparisons to his predecessor as the hype continues to grow around the rookie. So which receiver looked more impressive in their first ever training camp?

Nick: I know it’s been a decade but I think Dez was better as a rookie, if I remember correctly. Now, Dez was very dehydrated his first practice and threw up twice on the field. But he also had some really nice plays that day – and it was outside in the heat of April. But once camp started, he was so dynamic and made a highlight play every day it seemed. Now, CeeDee seems a little more advanced in his route-running and understanding of the position. So he’s probably further along than Dez, but in terms of “wow” plays, I’d have to give it to Dez at this point.

Rob: Man, that’s a tough question. I’ll say CeeDee simply because the last two weeks have literally been his first competition against NFL players. Dez definitely turned heads in practice back in 2010, even though the top storyline was his refusal to carry Roy Williams’ pads as a rookie tradition of sorts. But Dez had an offseason program to adjust to the speed of the game. No rookie camp or OTAs in the spring is what makes CeeDee’s camp so impressive to me.

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