Cowboys CBs: They Keep Anthony Brown & Add Canady

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys said goodbye to big-money Byron Jones this week via 2020 NFL Free Agency, and so they'll need to say hello to some new bodies in the secondary.

But the signing of former New York Jets cornerback Maurice Canady to a one year deal isn't really about replacing Byron; It is about depth, as is the re-signing of incumbent backup Anthony Brown to a three-year deal.

Canady, 25, is a former sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens from the 2016 NFL Draft. He was a Raven until November of 2019, when via waivers he joined the Jets.

Over the course of playing with both clubs, he totaled one interception, a forced fumble, five passes defended and 46 total tackles in a total of three starts.

At 6-1, he fits some of the "trait-driven'' thinking of Will McClay and the personnel department, so assuming this is a cheap deal (and again, just the one year), Canady should probably be considered a "prospect'' at this point

The other factor to note here regarding the retention of Brown and the investment in Canady: It would not preclude Dallas from chasing another more pedigreed corner. For a moment, that was rumored to be someone like former Atlanta Falcons standout Desmond Trufant. (Oh, and he used to play for Mike Nolan, now Dallas' defensive coordinator.) But Trufant, 29, a former first-round pick of the Falcons (from 2013), has moved to Detroit.

So a Dallas addition must come elsewhere to allow the Cowboys to make a legit argument that they've sufficiently replaced Byron Jones - a difficult argument to make via Brown and Canady.