Cowboys’ long-awaited cornerback move lands with an underwhelming thud

Jul 27, 2025; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jul 27, 2025; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys got extremely lucky with Tyler Guyton's knee. An initial diagnosis sparked fear that Guyton tore his ACL, but an MRI confirmed it was a bone fracture. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, which puts him on track to return by Week 2 at the latest.

While the Cowboys are flush with depth along the offensive line, fans would still like to see the front office bring in a veteran for more competition. It seems they will look internally to replace Guyton, at least initially, but that didn't stop them from addressing their need at cornerback.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Cowboys have signed Christian Matthew, who spent last season on the Ravens' practice squad.

Cowboys sign veteran Christian Matthew amid rash of CB injuries

Matthew last appeared in an NFL game in 2023 with the Chicago Bears under then-head coach Matt Eberflus. That familiarity likely helped Matthew land a gig with Dallas.

The 28-year-old has spent most of his career on practice squads, aside from his rookie season in 2022, when he appeared in 14 games and made three starts for the Cardinals, who drafted him in the seventh round.

Cowboys fans have been clamoring for a big-name cornerback, with Stephon Gilmore and Rasul Douglas emerging as the top wish-list options. Gilmore even made an unofficial visit to The Star in April before the draft, but the talks went nowhere. The Dolphins took Mike Hilton off the market over the weekend, leaving Dallas with fewer and fewer choices.

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The Matthew signing signals Dallas is doubling down on its own depth, which is consistent with its Guyton fallback plan.

As of this writing, Kaiir Elam, who has been among the top performers in training camp, DaRon Bland, who only just returned to practice following the birth of his child, Caelen Carson, Kemon Hall, Israel Mukuamu, Troy Pride, Robert Rochell and Bruce Harmon are the healthy CBs on the roster. Outside of Bland and Elam, the rest of the group has just 19 combined starts.

Safety Juanyeh Thomas has seen some burn at nickel cornerback, but he has missed the last two practices with an apparent leg injury. That means Dallas is currently without Trevon Diggs, rookie Shavon Revel Jr., Josh Butler and Thomas.

Signing Matthew suggests the Cowboys are confident in the progress of their injured corners, particularly Diggs and Revel. Still, it’s baffling they settled on a player who’s logged just one (!) defensive snap since 2022.