Why Cowboys roster game to bring back Deonte Thompson didn’t work for Brian Price?
When it comes to finalizing the 53 man roster, it’s not just about picking the top 53 players and saying this guy is better than that guy.
It’s also about gaming the system to stash guys who are hurt and making deals with others to trust the plan.
The Cowboys batted .500 in their roster gambles over the holiday weekend.
They surprisingly cut veteran receiver Deonte Thompson Saturday to keep second-year man Noah Brown on the roster. The Cowboys gave Thompson a $1 million signing bonus in the spring to sign as a free agent so the team always had plans for him.
But in order to save Brown, who has missed camp with a hamstring injury, from being cut and scooped up by another team, the Cowboys cut Thompson and kept Brown on the final 53. Brown could have been claimed off waivers by another team. They wanted to keep him on the roster and then move him to injured reserve, designated for return. Brown had to be on the final roster to get the short-term injured reserve designation.
The Cowboys had communicated as much to Thompson and he was on board with the plan. And everything went smoothly. Brown was moved to injured reserve on Monday and Thompson was re-signed at his same salary.
“There’s a lot of decisions you make right at the end that you’re just trying to understand the system and how you can best take advantage of it,” coach Jason Garrett said. “So we kept Noah on the 53 initially because he’s subject to waiver claims. Then we put him on IR. Deonte is not subject to waiver claims. So we talked to Deonte before that we knew that we wanted to bring him back. Given where Noah is with his hamstring, we just felt it was the right time to put him on IR.
The Cowboys had a similar plan of action at defensive tackle with Datone Jones, who is out with a sprained knee, and Brian Price. The Cowboys needed to keep Jones on the final roster so they could move him to short-term injured reserve. So they cut Price with the plan of bringing him back. The difference is that unlike Thompson, Price is not a vested veteran and was subject to the waiver system. As such, he was claimed by the Oakland Raiders.
Price was supposed to be the backup to Antwaun Woods at nose tackle. Now the Cowboys are scrambling for depth at the position. The Cowboys have other defensive tackles but none are true fits for the nose tackle spot.
This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 2:29 AM.