Crawford down, so Cowboys sign not a 'big name' but a 'big guy' D-lineman

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have lost defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford to IR. Are they replacing him with a "big name''? No, they are replacing him with a big guy. ... who used to play for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys have signed defensive lineman Justin Hamilton, who went undrafted in 2015 out of Louisiana Lafayette and will be joining his sixth team in four NFL seasons, time spent mostly as a training camp guy and, with the Seattle Seahawks - where Kris Richard undoubtedly got to know a guy who mostly has been a practice-squadder.

Richard, then Seattle defensive coordinator and now Dallas' top defensive aide, needs assistance on his side of the ball with the veteran Crawford moving to IR with his injured hips. Most of the help inside needs to come, obviously, by starting tackles Maliek Collins and Antwaun Woods. Chris Covington has also been a help, and now top rookie Trysten Hill (who has done nothing so far) needs to be as well.

We might also suggest Dallas will take a second look at promising Daniel Wise, the former Kansas standout who is on the Cowboys practice squad as an undrafted rookie. And along with that comes Hamilton, age 26, who is a 6-2, 312-pounder who figures as a possible run-stuffing tackle.

As a rookie, Hamilton was signed by the Buffalo Bills, where he spent the preseason and training camp. He then had cups of coffee with the Green Bay Packers and the Seahawks throughout the 2015 and 2016 seasons, had a 2017 stop was with the Philadelphia Eagles (and was on that active roster for about a month, playing in three games for the Eagles) before landing in Kansas City, where he registered one start in a meaningless Week 17 for the Chiefs and then got some snaps in a playoff game.

Hamilton was among the Chiefs' final cuts, so it could be argued he's spent his career as a "54th man.'' But at this moment, as the battered Cowboys begin practice prep for Sunday's visit from the Eagles? Dallas needs something more than that.