IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys look likely to add some offensive line depth in the form of veteran guard Uche Nwaneri at some point this week.
An official deal has yet to be struck, but the Cowboys have agreed to terms with Nwaneri on a free agent contract that would make him the eighth guard on the current roster. The team will have to make a roster move to bring Nwaneri on board, though what that is remains to be seen.
The situation looked promising enough Tuesday afternoon that Nwaneri tweeted he'd be joining the Cowboys, although he has yet to officially sign. In fact, he has yet to visit the team's Valley Ranch facility.
Nwaneri had spent all seven season of his career to this point with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he started 92 games between 2007 and 2013. He had been the Jaguars' starting right guard for the last five years, missing just four possible starts since 2009. Jacksonville released him in March as a cap-saving move.
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Jacksonville selected Nwaneri No. 149 overall in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played at Purdue, where he was a college teammate of fellow 2007 draftee and longtime Cowboy Anthony Spencer.
Nwaneri's familiarity with the Cowboys likely goes back farther than that, however. He is a native of the Dallas area and attended Naaman Forest High School in nearby Garland, Texas, which likely contributed to his interest in the Cowboys.
It remains to be seen what the plan would be for Nwaneri going forward, but a backup role seems likely. He has played both left guard and right guard during his career, so he could potentially fill in for either Zack Martin or the eventual starter at left guard – be it Ronald Leary or Mackenzy Bernadeau.
Of course, with three times as many starts to his name as both Bernadeau and Leary combined, there's no guarantee Nwaneri wouldn't push for playing time.
