The Dallas Cowboys’ regular season is just one game away, but the front office is already focused on the NFL playoffs. Four new players have joined the Cowboys’ practice squad, one of whom is Damien Wilson, a former starting linebacker. The Cowboys also signed running back SaRodorick Thompson, offensive lineman La’el Collins, and receiver Racey McMath in addition to Wilson.
Given that Collins and Wilson were both Dallas starters in the past, their inclusion is fascinating. In the NFL draft of 2015, Wilson was chosen by the Cowboys in the fourth round. Wilson continued to play with Dallas for four seasons, earning sixty-four games with twenty-two starts.
As a free agent in 2019, Wilson joined the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played two seasons as the team’s starting middle linebacker. Among other things, he was a vital member of the Chiefs defense throughout their 2019 Super Bowl run. In Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory over San Francisco, Wilson recorded two tackles.
Dallas’ decision to get Wilson makes a lot of sense considering how thin the team is at linebacker compared to other positions. The Cowboys recently let go of Rashaan Evans and lost starting lineman Leighton Vander Esch for the season.
Following a number of off-field incidents, including a four-week NFL suspension in November for breaking the personal conduct policy, Wilson’s career took a turn for the worse. The defense signed with the Jaguars in 2021 after spending two seasons with the Chiefs, and he started every one of Jacksonville’s 17 games. Wilson most recently participated in every one of the Carolina Panthers’ 17 games in 2022, including five starts.
This season, the newest linebacker for the Cowboys has not played a single NFL snap. How big of an impact Wilson will have on Dallas’ postseason is still to be determined.
Wilson is probably just Dallas’s insurance policy for the postseason. Patrik Walker of DallasCowboys.com described what fans might anticipate from Wilson’s role upon his return to the Big D.
In a piece published on January 4th, titled “IMPACT: Collins, Wilson reunite with Cowboys,” Walker described Wilson’s return to a linebackers room that is drastically different from what it was when he was in Dallas, his first tenure ending in 2018. “Along with being the only true linebacker on the active roster except Damone Clark, Rashaan Evans recently left the team. Evans is expected to give Markquese Bell, Clark, and other players depth as well as mentorship.
The Cowboys will count on him to produce on special teams if he is promoted, and he is well-versed in that role. From 2015 to 2018, he played over 1,300 special teams snaps for Dallas, and in 2022, he added 211 more snaps with the Carolina Panthers.
Dalvin Cook, a four-time Pro Bowl running back, had also been linked to the Cowboys. Instead of signing with the Cowboys, the experienced playmaker chose to join with the Baltimore Ravens. The Cowboys were interested in Cook, according to a prior report from Josina Anderson of CBS Sports.
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