Despite the latest injury to James Washington and the ongoing recovery from a torn ACL to Michael Gallup, the Dallas Cowboys are in no rush to dive into the free agent market and add a receiver. That’s something the front office and coaching staff have agreed upon, at least publicly.
“It doesn’t create an urgency for us at a veteran receiver,” Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said after Tuesday’s practice. “We like these young guys.” Head coach Mike McCarthy echoed the same statement regarding the receiver position, “not my focus”, and that his focus is on “seeing the young guys improve”.
After James Washington fractured his foot and was on the sidelines for 6-10 weeks, many believed it imperative that the Cowboys pick up the phone and fill that role, but as Jones stated that won’t be the case for now.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the Cowboys aren’t chomping at the bit to add a veteran despite having over $20 million in available cap space. They believe in the way they draft and see this as an opportunity to evaluate the young players on their roster.
“Let’s get these guys the incentive, these young receivers,” Jones stated, seeing a big opportunity ahead. “There’s no urgency looking for a veteran receiver.”
It’s no surprise the front office and the head coach are in lockstep about the development of their young players, but the star receiver who runs practice reps and attends meetings with them speaks positively about the young guys. Fans should breathe a sigh of relief.
CeeDee Lamb stated, “Houston is smooth in and out of breaks. His releases are A1.” He also extolled Tolbert’s ability to high-point ball. “I feel like going up for a 50-50 ball, it’s not really 50-50 with him.”
There is a lot on Tolbert’s plate to contribute immediately and thus far he is handling things well. Wide receivers coach Robert Prince has a tough task ahead of him getting these young guys ready for the season but the good thing for the Cowboys is that all of the young receivers have flashed so far in training camp.
TJ Vasher had the play of camp so far with his one-handed red-zone catch against second-year corner Kelvin Joseph. Houston and quarterback Dak Prescott have started to develop a rapport while Simi Fehoko has had some impressive moments in camp, as well.
Newley signed KaVontae Turpin has shown off his speed in camp with hopes to be more than a return man.
Even the veteran Noah Brown has put together a strong camp as he is hoping to become more than a spot player amid injuries and translate what he has done so far into a bigger role once the season starts.
As training camp progresses into preseason games, Jones is sure to be asked again how he feels about the depth, hopefully there is a clearer picture on who and how the group will be used in preparation for the opener versus the Buccaneers on September 11.
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Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire