Cowboys news: Dallas goes waiver wire shopping for a few new pieces

Cowboys Claim QB Will Grier Off Waivers - Rob Phillips, DallasCowboys.com

Cooper Rush may have beaten out Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci in training camp, but the backup job now has competition the acquisition of former West Virginia gunslinger Will Grier.

Grier spent two seasons (2014-15) at the University of Florida under Cowboys quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, who was the Gators’ offensive coordinator and QBs coach then. Grier transferred to West Virginia in 2016 and became a two-year starter, earning All-Big-12 honors in 2018.

The Panthers drafted Grier in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He made two starts his rookie season, his only regular-season action to date.

The Cowboys released Garrett Gilbert and waived Ben DiNucci in their roster reduction to 53 players Tuesday, leaving Cooper Rush as the only backup to starter Dak Prescott. They are releasing punter Bryan Anger to make room for Grier on the roster. Anger, a vested veteran who doesn’t have to go through waivers, is likely to be re-signed.

Scouting report on new Cowboys QB Will Grier - Jeff Cavanaugh, Audacy.com

Curious about the scouting report on the new Cowboys quarterback? Jeff Cavanaugh revisits his 2019 scouting profile on Will Grier.

The Cowboys claimed QB Will Grier off waivers and he will be added to their 53 man roster. I’ve got my scouting report on him from the 2019 NFL draft so you can get a handle on what he is as a player.

Love his deep ball. He’s got good touch. Very accurate thrower. Doesn’t have a big arm.

The dude can throw the ball. He’s a really accurate thrower of the football. His results when he actually got to play NFL football in Carolina were awful, so go ahead and temper it with that, but he was a guy in college that, in the Big 12, when you’re getting the ball out on time, when wide receivers are open— and look, a lot of guys can do it, right?

It’s very, very easy to throw it to open receivers all the time. His problem is, outside of structure, when a play breaks down, when he’s not well-protected, it can affect the decision making in a bad way, and then he doesn’t have a big arm.

Report: Cowboys agree to terms with Corey Clement - Charean Williams, PFT

The Cowboys also adding a third running back.

The Cowboys’ roster cuts Tuesday left them with only two running backs. They added a third Wednesday.

Dallas has agreed to terms with free agent running back Corey Clement, Todd Archer of ESPN reports.

The Giants released Clement this week.

He will back up Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard and play special teams. Clement played 268 special snaps in 2020 for the Eagles and has played more special teams snaps (742) in his career than offensive snaps (605).

Clement signed with the Giants in May after four seasons with Philadelphia. He has 655 yards rushing and 340 yards receiving in 46 career games.

Clement led the Giants with 86 yards rushing in this year’s three preseason games.

Cowboys practice squad tracker: Ben DiNucci, JaQuan Hardy staying in Dallas, source says - SportsDay Staff, DMN

After clearing waivers following the final 53-man cut on Tuesday, the Cowboys have begun filling out their practice squad. Chief among the names, Ben DiNucci and JaQuan Hardy.

The Cowboys are re-signing DiNucci to practice squad, a source told DMN’s Michael Gehlken. There could be some fluidity over time at the position, but for now, that gives Dallas four quarterbacks (Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush and Will Grier) in the building. That’s a lot in most years. With COVID-19, this isn’t most years.

— JaQuan Hardy, RB

The Cowboys are re-signing Hardy, an undrafted rookie featured on “Hard Knocks,” to their practice squad, a source told DMN’s Michael Gehlken. He attracted practice-squad interest from a number of other teams.

You can find more on the practice squad signings by following our tracker.

Cowboys’ Keys to Success in 2021 NFL Season - Alex Ballentine, Bleacher Report

Just about everything that could have gone wrong for Dallas did in 2020. These could be the Cowboys’ keys for success in 2021.

If Dak Prescott is healthy and protected, he has the ability to post a top-five season at quarterback. That’s a great place to start for any offense.

Last season, the Cowboys’ offensive line surrendered 44 sacks while playing a combination of Prescott, Andy Dalton, Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert at quarterback.

That’s not a direct indictment on this year’s group. Tyron Smith only played two games. Zack Martin missed six and La’el Collins missed the whole season. Those three combining to miss 36 games might have hurt the offense worse than losing Prescott.

At least without the 28-year-old, the Cowboys still have one of the best collections of skill players. Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are enough to make a lot of quarterbacks look good when given time.

Interview: DL Brent Urban to play huge role on and off the field for the Cowboys in 2021 - Connor Livesay, Blogging The Boys

At the ripe “old age” of 30, veteran defensive lineman Brent Urban finds himself the elder statesman in the interior of the Cowboys line. In his interview with Connor Livesay of BTB, he talked about the leadership responsibilities that come with that.

For a defense that was downright atrocious against the run last year, Brent Urban’s size, length, and strong anchor gives this year’s run defense a chance. On a defense that has lacked pass rush from the interior since Maliek Collins’ departure, Brent Urban’s length, explosiveness, and power gives the interior of the defensive line some juice when rushing the passer on early downs. One thing we weren’t too familiar with is how much of a veteran presence he’d bring to the locker room.

When speaking with him for an interview on this week’s Talkin’ the Star episode, Urban talked a lot about coming into Dallas looking to lead and teach the young guys on this defense as much as possible. And the Cowboys certainly have a lot of young guys on defense this year, with a sizable group of along the defensive line that will benefit from his experience.

As he mentions in the episode, this is one of the first opportunities he has had to command a locker room given his age and experience with such a young defensive group. From an on-the-field and off-the-field perspective, Urban’s presence will be felt in 2021.

Dallas Cowboys: Top 3 takeaways from the fourth episode of Hark Knocks - Mitch Larson, The Landry Hat

The fourth episode of ‘Hard Knocks’ introduced us to perhaps a new nickname for the Cowboys franchise quarterback: Pylon Prescott.

Last week Hard Knocks captured one of the funniest moments all season when they caught quarterback Dak Prescott delving pretty deep into his fear of mascots. This week the franchise QB was back again with one of the lighter moments to make it onscreen.

It all starts with Dak, Garrett Gilbert, and Ben DiNucci having a friendly competition, trying to hit the pylon on some of their throws. The scene then cuts to the quarterback’s room and Prescott declaring he was given a great idea for a new tailgating game, which the now-recently released DiNucci said he should call “Prescott’s Pylon Game”.

Sure, “Prescott’s Pylon Game” may not be the most original idea in the world but Dak could have something here. He was joking (or was he?) that he’s already talked to his financial advisor about the product and what he might be able to sell it for. Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier then chimed in, even suggesting that the quarterback start calling himself “Pylon Prescott”.

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