Cowboys Free Agency: What Does Personnel Dept. Think of Raiders Safety Karl Joseph?

FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys openly jokes about giving the safety position short shrift, COO Stephen Jones recently saying, "Oh, that poor safety position. It gets shorted every time.''

While there is no indication that the 2020 Cowboys are going to suddenly turn their priorities upside-down, there is buzz inside The Star about using a premium pick on a safety; The Cowboys met with LSU safety Grant Delpit at the NFL Scouting Combine, and Alabama’s Xavier McKinney, arguably the best safety in the 2020 class, is surely on their radar.

The other way to approach the position while maintaining policy on it: Pursue a "value'' free agent like the Raiders Karl Joseph.

No, he's not Eric Weddle, Earl Thomas or Jamal Adams, all of whom have been Dallas pursuits in recent years ... with the price for each, one way or another, ending up too high.

But we think it's fair to say the Dallas personnel department once upon a time (in the 2016 NFL Draft) liked Joseph, the in-the-box safety from West Virginia.

And at the right price, we bet the Dallas personnel department still does.

The arguments against Joseph? The Raiders took him with the No. 14 pick in Round 1 but opted to not pick up the fifth-year option, thus his free-agency availability. What do they know? That his in-the-box status limits him? Maybe, but as a rookie he started 12 games and recorded six pass deflections and an interception.

The 5-10, 200-pound Joseph, 26, boasts a pedigree that is obviously superior to that of Jeff Heath (Dallas' free agent at safety opposite Xavier Woods, who has the other safety spot nailed down). Joseph also spoke, after going on IR with a foot injury, of wishing to stick with the Raiders as they move to Las Vegas.

“Of course. This is the team that drafted me,” Joseph said. “I love playing with this group of guys. ... We’ll see what happens. It’s out of my control now. All I can do it get healthy and get better. I believe everything will work itself out.”

Maybe, as a second-tier free agent, it'll work out in Dallas ... unless the Cowboys choose the "short-shrift'' route once again.