Cowboys Roster: Jourdan Lewis & 4 Problems in Dan Quinn Secondary?
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn calls Jourdan Lewis "an absolute warrior,'' and the veteran defensive back Lewis essentially labels himself absolutely ready to return to the field after almost a year of injury-related absence.
But is Lewis' presence on the 53-man roster an answer ... or a question?
Our friend Joey Ickes at Blogging the Boys smartly includes the Lewis decision on his list of issues on Quinn's secondary, which we will frame thusly ...
1 - Shuffling Deck Chairs: Kelvin Joseph got traded to Miami for former first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene, a headline-grabbing move. But does this make Dallas better?
Joseph hadn't done anything special. But he hadn't done anything wrong, either. Meanwhile, "Iggy'' was a first-round bust in Miami, where he gained a reputation for an inability to plan man defense. (See the Dolphins scouting report here).
Predictably, every single sportswriter in America called this a "change-of-scenery'' trade. But wondering whether Dallas gave up on Joseph a little too early needs to be in the conversation, too.
2 - Bodies Without Depth: The Cowboys at the moment have seven cornerbacks. That's an extraordinarily high number, and while it will shrink as Nahshon Wright moves to short-term IR, he'll be replaced by call-back special-team ace C.J. Goodwin, who is technically a cornerback, too (kind of).
So ... seven corners. Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore and DaRon Bland? Maybe having three that good represents an embarrassment of riches and Cowboys Nation shouldn't gripe. But ...
After that comes late-round rookie Eric Scott Jr. You ready to give him significant snaps at New York in Week 1? Or Lewis, activated from PUP. Is he really ready? (More below.) Can safety Israel Mukuamu also play corner. Is that a great answer?
3 - The "3-Headed Monster'' Over-Reliance?: Cowboys safeties? Yes, they can almost do it all. Quinn uses Jayron Kearse and Donovan Wilson at all three levels in partnership with "centerfielder'' Malik Hooker.
And now there's another level of guy, two big kids in Juanyeh Thomas and Markquese Bell, who are viewed as being so talented at safety that they can replace linebacker Jabril Cox, who was cut and is now in Washington. (Coach Mike McCarthy explains here.)
The safety position has "chess pieces.'' Great! Or ... they're about to be asked to be safeties who play cornerback, linebacker and defensive end. And being "Peter Principled'' comes to mind here.
4 - What to do with Jourdan Lewis? The decision has been made, and it's not just one based on him being "an absolute warrior.'' It's a medical decision. And it's a great thing ...
Unless, as Ickes points out, the Cowboys are misjudging, ever so slightly, on Lewis as they did on Michael Gallup a year ago. In retrospect, Gallup was "kind of'' ready, and he's since admitted he was never "100 percent'' mentally on down.
Lewis? He hasn't played in 11 months. He was in a boot until April. He practiced on Monday after the foot problem kept him out for the entirety of training camp.
Why not start him on short-term PUP? Maybe because the Cowboys think they need him. And with all the bodies and the big reputations and the promise of this secondary ... we're not certain that's a good thing.
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