Dallas Cowboys: 3 Pending free agents with ties to new coaching staff
By Randy Gurzi
2. Vonn Bell, Safety
Much has been made of the Cowboys situation at safety. For whatever reason, the former staff seemed to think this wasn’t a position to pay much attention to — much like the aforementioned defensive tackle spot. For instance, this past season Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath were the starters.
Woods played well at times but he’s a former sixth-round pick who is still developing. As for Heath, he’s a former undrafted free agent from a small school (Saginaw Valley State) who is a stud on special teams but is really a stop-gap solution at the position.
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Dallas did flirt with the idea of adding Earl Thomas in a trade in 2018 and free agency in 2019, but found the price too steep each time. They then looked at Jamal Adams as a potential trade acquisition, but again they balked at the price.
There was also the infamous 2019 NFL Draft where they had a shot at Juan Thornhill or Taylor Rapp in the second round but took Trysten Hill, a defensive tackle with character concerns that didn’t even start in his final season at UCF — but they thought ‘ol Rod could ‘coach him up’! Thankfully Rod Marinelli is gone and they will stop trying to coach up defensive tackles with character issues.
They also took a guard in the third round as they thought having Connor McGovern as a backup was better than landing someone such as Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who is now with the Saints.
Perhaps this new staff will finally realize what a good safety can bring, and one potential signing in free agency is Vonn Bell. He played well in Nolan’s system last season and could be an upgrade for the Cowboys.