4 Free agent targets as Dallas Cowboys start training camp
By Randy Gurzi
4. Charles Clay, Tight End
When Jason Witten retired following the 2017 season, the Cowboys weren’t prepared for his departure. At that time, they had Geoff Swaim as the most experienced option as well as a second-year undrafted player in Blake Jarwin. Dallas had always been high on Jarwin, but no one expected him to be ready for a huge role in year two.
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Then there was rookie fourth-round pick Dalton Schultz and Rico Gathers, the former basketball player from Baylor who was taken in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Unsurprisingly, this position ended up being a weakness for the Cowboys who welcomed Witten back in 2019 when he decided to un-retire.
Witten is now gone again and while Jarwin is much better suited to be the starter, there’s not a lot behind him. The Cowboys No. 2 tight end appears to be Blake Bell who was signed away from the Kansas City Chiefs. Schultz is there to be the third tight end, but he has yet to prove he can take on a big rile should something happen to Jarwin.
With all that being said, the Cowboys could get into camp and realize they need to add a veteran to help out. If so, they could try and land Charles Clay who is still without an NFL team after spending the 2019 season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Clay entered the NFL in 2011 with the Miami Dolphins before joining the Buffalo Bills in 2015. He was with each of those teams for four seasons before joining Arizona last year. For his career, Clay has 357 receptions for 3,868 yards and 24 touchdowns.
He’s also an excellent blocker who actually started his career with the Dolphins as a fullback. Adding him would give Dallas some insurance but he also wouldn’t be a progress stopper for Jarwin the way Witten had become.