Three Dallas Cowboys storylines to watch in 2020
By Mitch Larson
2. What happens at safety?
I wrote about the Cowboys safety situation a couple of weeks ago prior to the team releasing Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. It’s no secret that safety is arguably the weakest position on the entire Cowboys roster. In fact, you might even be able to make an argument that Dallas’ safety group is one of the weakest position groups in the entire league.
Right now the team is set to roll into the season with Xavier Woods and Darian Thompson as their starting safeties. Woods was injured a couple of weeks ago, but owner Jerry Jones has said he expects him to play. Thompson has a good camp, and Clinton-Dix’s release opened a clear path for him to now start.
However, anytime a veteran safety like Clinton-Dix is cut during training camp in favor of someone like Thompson who has largely played special teams, it says a lot more about that veteran than anyone else.
Outside of Woods and Thompson, the Cowboys have Donovan Wilson on the active roster and he also seemed to have impressed in camp at times. Cornerbacks Daryl Worley and Reggie Robinson II also worked at safety during training camp. Robinson in particular will be interesting to keep an eye on. He was drafted as a cornerback, but he’s reportedly moved to safety.
After cutting Clinton-Dix, Dallas went and signed veteran defensive back Brandon Carr to the practice squad and he will likely see some snaps at safety once he is ready to play. Carr saw action there last season for the Baltimore Ravens in addition to his traditional position of cornerback.
Fans likely remember Carr from his previous stint in Dallas where he played 5 seasons (2012-2016) and never missed a start. He is a solid veteran who has played in and started every game in his NFL career and brings both experience and a great locker room presence.
It continues to feel highly unlikely that the team will go and spend big on a player like Earl Thomas or any other available free agent to come in and fix the secondary. The first quarter of the Cowboys season sees them facing off against Jared Goff, Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson, and Baker Mayfield.
All four of them lead pass-happy offenses who are going to be more than happy to take shots down the field. If the Cowboys struggle early against the pass they may have no choice but to find outside help.
The Cowboys have a few players already in Dallas who they feel good about. Whether they should or not is a different story.