Late Wednesday night, the Cowboys came to terms on a one-year deal with safety Brodney Pool, a seven-year veteran who spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets.
In 2009, Pool played for Rob Ryan, the current Cowboys defensive coordinator, in Cleveland. His secondary coach with the Browns, Jerome Henderson, now holds the same position in Dallas.
Pool, 27, was a second-round pick of the Browns out of Oklahoma in 2005, he has started 67 games in his career. For the Cowboys, he likely takes the spot of safety Abram Elam, a former Cleveland teammate.
Pool is the second defensive back the Cowboys have picked up in less than 24 hours, following Chiefs cornerback Brandon Carr.
"A very athletic safety," head coach Jason Garrett said. "We have familiarity with him. He played in Rob's system, he played for Jerome Henderson in Cleveland, so we know him. He's a guy we spoke to last year during that abbreviated free agency period."
Listed at 6-2, 214 pounds, Pool has good size for a safety. He has 13 interceptions in his career, including four in his lone season under Rob Ryan.
"He's a guy who we think has very good ball skills and is very good on the back end," Garrett said, "but also can be a guy that can come down and do all the jobs that a safety in our defensive scheme has to do. His strengths are on the back end, using his athleticism, going and making plays on the ball downfield, so we feel like he can be a real asset for our team as well."
