Source: Cowboys Making Position Change In Secondary
FRISCO - Shortly after he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys, Daryl Worley - a starting cornerback last year with the Raiders - told SI.com that he was unaware of the rumors that due to his size and tackling ability, his new team might use him at safety.
Now we're halfway through Cowboys training camp here at The Star in Frisco. And maybe ... anything goes.
But Worley isn't the one who is moving. And Earl Thomas isn't the one who's coming.
Rookie fourth-rounder Reggie Robinson II is the man involved in the secondary shuffle.
While this week's safety talk has largely focused on a player who does not fit into Dallas' immediate plans - free agent and seven-time Pro Bowler Thomas - the coaching staff is busy with the guys on the roster. Xavier Woods is locked in at one spot, and wishes to stay above the gossip fray.
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“I just can control what I can control,” said Woods, who happens to share an agent with Thomas “That’s the bottom line. I know my worth. I know that I can play and that’s all that matters to me.
"It doesn’t bother me anymore, man. I don’t even pay no mind to it.”
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, like Worley a veteran newcomer, was thought to be automatic as Woods' running mate. But on Tuesday, the name of journeyman Darian Thompson was broached by head coach Mike McCarthy, who said Thompson is "having a great camp."
Could a corner play some safety? Chidobe Awuzie, presently dinged up, was supposed to be a candidate for that, but recently pointed out to the media that "I'm running with the 1's'' as the top corner.
How about Worley? On the first day of camp, he joined second-round rookie Trevon Diggs as a second-teamer - behind Awuzie and Anthony Brown, with Jourdan Lewis in the Nickel - by mixing in with the first unit. And now, Worley, at 6-1 and 215-pounds about as large a corner as exists in the NFL, may be finding himself playing a bit inside, too.
The Cowboys do believe Worley can play places beyond corner, even though if that's happened at all, it's been on a limited basis.
But for now? It is the "flexibility'' of the rookie from Tulsa, The 6-1, 205-pound Robinson - who was a special-teams ace in college and was a full-time safety in high school - that fuels a shift.
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"What I like is I like the flexibility that our guys give us," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think a big part of this game is the ability to try to match up your players against your opponent. We have a number of guys that give us a lot of flexibility back there.''
Presently, Awuzie is on the sideline and Lewis is going to miss a week due to a minor injuries. Diggs is the favored guy to win snaps at cornerback. That "next man up'' could eventually be Worley. But the next man up now is a young man, Reggie Robinson II, who might find a path to more snaps with this change.
