IRVING, Texas – As the Cowboys focus on the offseason, training camp is still in sight.
Coming off two straight 8-8 seasons and three full seasons removed from the playoffs, the Cowboys have plenty of question marks surrounding them as they prepare for the 2013 season.
As we count down the days to camp, the writers of DallasCowboys.com will take a different question each day that is hovering over this team.
With 69 days until the Cowboys take the field in Oxnard, Calif., today's question centers on the wide receiver position:
69) Can Anyone Jump From Tryout To 53-Man Roster Spot?
In years past, the Cowboys would bring in a few workout players just to function these rookie mini-camps. If they lacked receivers or maybe needed another arm for camp, then you'd get a player, preferably local, and that was usually it.
It seems like we need to be putting more stock into the players invited for workouts. The Cowboys had about 20 players in total here this weekend for a tryout basis.
Since the conclusion of camp on Sunday, the Cowboys have signed three players to the roster, including guard D.J. Hall, who spent part of last year on Jacksonville's practice squad.
Hall (6-1, 323) essentially took the spot on the roster vacated by Charlie Bryant, a first-year pro who signed with the Cowboys in January. He spent time with San Diego last year, decided to quit the team before Saturday's practice. Not only did Hall take spot on the roster and depth chart, but his jersey No. 69 as well.
The Cowboys also decided to sign offensive tackle Edawn Coughman, who spent some time last year on Seattle's practice squad and wide receiver Anthony Amos, an undrafted rookie from Middle Tennessee State.
Last year, the Cowboys signed two players from their minicamp tryout to the active roster in defensive end Ben Bass and fullback Jamize Olawale. Later in camp, the Cowboys signed receiver David Little, who was here initially on the tryout. Bass and Olawale made it the practice squad and Bass eventually made it to the active roster in November. Olwale was claimed by the Raiders in December.
Sticking with our numerical journey to training camp, let's take a closer look at the number 69
- The Cowboys did not have a player wear No. 69 for the first 34 years of the franchise. Backup lineman George Hegamin became the first to wear it, spending four years with the team. Other players who have donned No. 69 include Ben Fricke, Ross Tucker and Jason Fabini.
- The Cowboys finished 11-2-1 during the 1969 season,which was the rookie year of future Hall of Famer Roger Staubach. The Cowboys lost to Cleveland in the Eastern Championship Game. [embedded_ad]
- The 1969 draft produced running back Calvin Hill in the first round. The rookie from Yale led the Cowboys in rushing that year with 942 yards.
- There weren't many highlights in the 2010 season that finished 6-10, but Miles Austin's 69-yard touchdown in which he leapt over two Titans defenders before sprinting to the end zone is one of his better highlights of his career.
