Nov 13, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress before the game against the New England Patriots at Met Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

It is no secret that one of the weaknesses of the Dallas Cowboys going into training camp was depth at the wide receiver position. There are also question marks over the two main wide receivers in Miles Austin and Dez Bryant.  Austin, who missed several games last year with hamstring injuries, had to sit out of training camp this week with the same hamstring issues. Dez Bryant, who can never stay out of the negative news spotlight, is probably one more arrest away from being kicked off of the team. With very young or unproven wide receivers behind them on the depth chart, Cowboys may feel they need to add one more impact veteran wide receiver. (more…)

Roy Williams, who is seriously fighting for his job this year, is not working out with teammates. He’s doing it alone.

Ken Hamlin, who was given the franchise tag which pays him over $4 million this year, is not participating in what is called the off-season conditioning program.  Talks about Hamlin getting a longterm contract fizzled, and he’s been a no-show.

Marion Barber is not participating in the work outs either. He was given the highest tender for a restricted free agent, which is more than $2.5 million a year. Barber can’t go anywhere, and he has until June 1 to sign. If he doesn’t sign, the Cowboys could pay him even less. Sure, there’s no rush for him to sign, especially since there were talks about the Cowboys signing him up, too.

As the article states, Chris Canty, who was given a first-round tender as a restricted free agent, is working out with the team.

Does anyone else find this interesting? Well, our owner, Jerry Jones, is not too concerned. He was caught by the press while playing golf.

“Not at all,” Jones said during the team’s annual golf tournament for sponsors, held at the Cowboys Golf Course in Grapevine. “I would like them to be here. But right now, we’re working on a few things. I think when the time comes, they’ll be ready to go.”

“If their contracts were done I would expect them to be a part of the OTAs and mini-camp,” said Jones. “I’m not disappointed. We’ve got some time there.”

As for Hamlin, he is seeing dollar signs through his agent. As the article points out, the Oakland Raiders screwed a bunch of teams by signing Gibril Wilson to a ridiculous  six-year, $39 million deal this off-season. Wilson hasn’t even seen a Pro Bowl.

Barber is seeing money signs too, through his opulent agent, Drew “Puff Daddy” Rosenhaus.

So, who is leading this team? Who is stepping up and calling these guys and asking them what exactly the deal is? I personally don’t see any reason at all not to work out with your teammates unless you don’t like your teammates. Am I right or wrong? Roy Williams saying he works out better alone is just weird. No one works out better alone!

This is not how I wanted to start this offseason. Not even close.

The two sides have made no progress in a longterm contract, and he has not yet signed his tender for $2.56 million. Is there reason to be concerned? Not if Barber thinks clearly and ignores his agent a little bit.

Drafting two running backs in the first four rounds is not foreshadowing to a Barber-less Cowboys future. We lost Julius Jones and Tyson Thompson to free agency. The Cowboys had to draft running backs. We may have just gotten lucky with whom they selected. Certainly, the position is upgraded. Wasn’t that one of the goals?

But what is Barber thinking about all of this? Does he feel slighted because he’s not the lone back in Big D? Does he feel slighted that the Cowboys are not offering him the same money that LT gets? Is his agent serious? Can any NFL team defeat the antics of Drew Rosenhaus?
Barber needs to show up on time once the real camp begins. He needs to show up, in shape, and ready to play. He’ll get his longterm deal.