Cowboys Rumors: Potential Sam Williams replacements in the event of suspension
Amid the dark news of Sam Williams' recent arrest, even the fiercest Jerry Jones haters had to chuckle at what the Cowboys owner said afterward: At least Williams was going 66 miles per hour, not 98 miles per hour. That's improvement.
Jones is looking at silver linings, and so are we. Should Williams get suspended for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, who's going to step up in his place?
Williams was expected to fill the hole Randy Gregory left behind when he joined the Broncos this past offseason. His concerning off-field track record notwithstanding, the 2022 second-rounder had put together a solid rookie campaign (22 tackles, nine QB hits, four sacks) and was primed for an explosive second season.
If Williams has to miss time, 2023 fourth-rounder Viliami Fehoko Jr. could move up the depth chart, though he's still more of a raw developmental player. Undrafted free agents Isaiah Land, Durrell Johnson, and others don't possess the talent or experience to handle an immediate role.
Of Dallas' defensive end options, veteran Dante Fowler, who enjoyed one of his better seasons in 2022, is the favorite to get more playing time, and uber-athletic offseason signing Ben Banogu could make a dent in the defense as well.
Externally, the Cowboys could look toward free agents Matthew Ioannidis and Jason Pierre-Paul. It's not lost on us that both played for the Cowboys' NFC East rivals back in the day. Still, Ioannidis' relatively young age and Pierre-Paul's consistency make them intriguing assets, and either could sign a cheap deal to serve as a solid stopgap until Williams returns.
Cowboys Rumors: Deuce Vaughn keeps expectations in check during preseason
History tends to repeat itself, which is why many fans are already speculating that running back Deuce Vaughn is going to do to Tony Pollard what Pollard himself did to Ezekiel Elliott in 2022. Take the lion's share of snaps, usurp him as RB1, and render him irrelevant by the end of the season.
For the rookie Vaughn, it's a tad too early to be thinking about becoming a star. Based on a recent interview with The Athletic, he's just enjoying the ride so far.
Vaughn said he didn't come into his first year expecting anything: "I'm not a big statistical guy. I'm not a big goal guy." All he wanted was to make a positive impact and help the Cowboys be successful -- quite the humble sentiment that only solidifies his fan-favorite status in Dallas.
"It's been really cool to have the type of (positive) feedback from the fans and have all this love, but I also understand that this is just the preseason," Vaughn said.
The 2023 sixth-rounder has no shortage of highlights in the span of only a few short months. Who could forget his tiny flea-sized body darting and dodging his way through 300-pound defenders at camp, or the fact that his dad, a member of the Cowboys' scouting team, cried when he called his son on draft day to tell him the good news?
Vaughn is in line for immediate offensive snaps in 2023, that's for sure. Just how many? He's not sweating it.
Cowboys Rumors: Wideout David Durden carted off with knee injury
The Cowboys are feeling the worst kind of deja vu right now. After rookies DeMarvion Overshown and John Stephens both tore their ACLs, disaster struck again.
Wide receiver David Durden, an undrafted rookie, suffered a non-contact knee injury on Wednesday and had to get carted off the field. Durden will undergo an MRI which will reveal the exact nature of his injury, but there is reportedly concern in Cowboys camp that Durden suffered some amount of ACL damage.
If so, that would mean the Cowboys have lost three rookies to ACL injuries in the past five days.
Both Overshown and Stephens got injured in last week's preseason game against the Seahawks.
According to The Dallas Morning News' Michael Gehlken, Durden fell to the ground while running a route against Trevon Diggs in a one-on-one drill.
One of the brighter gems of this year's undrafted rookie class, Durden was a long shot to make the 53-man roster but was expected to earn a practice squad spot at the very least. The 24-year-old Durden joined the Cowboys following a short minor-league baseball career in the Red Sox organization.
With the Durden news, the Cowboys' injury luck keeps on taking a turn for the worse. At this point, it's not a bad idea to keep all their top-performing rookies in bubble wrap before the start of the 2023 season.
