IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys continued with the back-to-front signing of their draft class Monday by inking linebacker Anthony Hitchens on a four-year deal.
Hitchens signed his rookie contract Monday, which marked the beginning of the Cowboys' second week of Organized Team Activities. Given what has transpired in the team's linebacker corps recently, it was probably a smart move to get the rookie officially on board.
It's safe to say the spotlight on Hitchens has intensified considerably since he arrived at Valley Ranch on May 15. The Cowboys lost middle linebacker Sean Lee to a torn ACL on the first day of OTAs just last week – roughly a month after they drafted Hitchens to add depth at the position. [embedded_ad] Hitchens took first-team snaps at middle linebacker following Lee's injury last week, though he said he still has plenty of adjusting to do to the new position. He played weak side linebacker during his time at Iowa, where he racked up an impressive 270 tackles in four years.
The Cowboy drafted Hitchens No. 119 overall on May 10. The terms of his deal are unknown as of yet, but last year's 119th pick, Washington safety Phillip Thomas, signed a four-year, $2.5 million deal with a signing bonus of roughly $425,000.
The Cowboys have now locked up all five of their seventh-round picks, their fifth-round pick and their fourth-round pick. Only No. 34 overall pick DeMarcus Lawrence and No. 16 overall pick Zack Martin remain without contracts.
