Could this Cowboys long shot pay off at defensive end?

Signed late last December, could this inherited longtime project at defensive end pay off big for the Dallas Cowboys in 2016?

If I asked you to name all of the Dallas Cowboys current players at defensive end, the name Michael McAdoo would likely elude you. When the Arena Football League star was signed to the practice squad during the last week of December, then to their reserve/futures list a week later, it was barely headline worthy.

Yet, McAdoo is in a rare position this offseason. With the Cowboys top two defensive ends, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory set to miss the first four games of the regular season due to pending suspensions, Dallas could use players at the position to step up in their absence.

On top of that need, Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones has gone on record stating the team will not immediately pursue any veterans in free agency to fill those voids, instead opting to give the younger players on their roster the chance to do so first.

It’s a unique opportunity in a league that rarely offers them. And according to DallasCowboys.com football analyst Bryan Broaddus, McAdoo is showing flashes of his potential to help fill those voids during the team’s first week of OTA’s.

"“I didn’t know much about Mike McAdoo before the start of this camp, but he flashed some at defensive end,” Broaddus wrote on the team’s official site on Wednesday. “He is a bit undersized weight-wise, but he is extremely quick off the ball. At 6-7 he has a rangy build, but there is something to work with here.”"

McAdoo went undrafted out of North Carolina after an academic scandal caused him to get thrown off the team in 2010, lose his eligibility entirely the following year and forced him into the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft. During his two seasons with the Tar Heels, McAdoo recorded 29 total tackles, had 10.0 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks in 24 career games.

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Signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2011, the 6-7, 245 pound developmental project was regulated to the practice squad and played all of one preseason game during his two years in Baltimore.

McAdoo suffered consecutive season-ending injuries (knee, Achilles) during his time with the Ravens, which essentially robbed him of any chance of proving himself during the regular season. However, he does have a Super Bowl ring as a member of Baltimore’s 2012 squad.

After being released from the Ravens in 2013, McAdoo spent time in both the CFL and AFL. In 2015, the 25-year old recorded 36 total tackles and had 11.0 sacks while starting in 14 games for the Arena League’s Arizona Rattlers.

Described by former NFL scout Broaddus as slippery with a skill for getting off the ball, McAdoo has a real chance to earn his way back into the NFL with the Cowboys, who will be down two defensive ends when the season starts. He’ll have to prove he’s worthy of that rare opportunity this offseason.

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