QUICK OUT: Dallas Cowboys’ Math

Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

I’m not “Rainman” or anything, but I do like to keep track of things.  And, I am an excellent driver…

Anyway, the Cowboys have been as active as anyone this long off season.  To help fill the “no football gap”, I pulled out a couple of games from last year and watching them reminded me just how many players that made some significant contributions are no longer on the team.  I wanted something that would pull all the different moves into one place.  When I couldn’t find it, I decided to do one myself.  So, hopefully, this provides some good information for others.  It is accurate as of today but I fully expect there to continue to be plenty of changes as the off season drags on, training camp starts, and then eventually the roster is trimmed down from the 90 players they are allowed to take to camp.  Here we go.

ADDITION 

At 90 players, some of these are just “camp bodies” and have no realistic chance of making the final 53.  But, you never know.  You only need to think about Tony Romo to understand that unknown, undrafted free agents can make the team and turn out to be really good players.  So, until they are cut, they have a shot.  These are the players on the current roster that were not part of the Cowboys roster at the end of the 2012 season. 

*NOTE: Where I could find something interesting about the player, I’ve included a link to it in the post – click on their name.

You will recognize some of these names – like Colin Cochart, Eric Frampton, and Anthony Armstrong as they’ve been on the roster before at some point but all were cut and then re-signed during the off season.  It’s my list, so I’m counting them as additions.

SUBTRACTION

These are the players that were on the roster at the end of the season who no longer wear the star.  If they signed with another team, I’ve listed where they went.

DIVISION

The players weren’t the only ones involved in changing the Cowboys this off season.  Let’s not forget the coaching staff changes and a minor, little change in total defensive philosophy by going from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defense.  Oh, and you might have heard that Bill Callahan will now be calling plays instead of Jason Garrett. 

*Robinson was retained as a Senior Coaching Consultant but relieved of WR coaching responsibility.

MULTIPLICATION

Although these aren’t new players, let’s not lose sight of how many critical players we lost to injury last season and will hopefully be getting back at full strength!  These are all players – many starters – that missed significant time and ended the season on IR but are still on the roster.

So, there you have it.  This is a complete list as of today of all the moving parts.  Hopefully, it makes some of the names more recognizable as we head into training camp and the preseason games.  More than that, let’s hope it all adds up to something special for the Cowboys in 2013!  Go Cowboys!