preseason game in Newman's absence. The next the Cowboys are operating in practice with Jacques Reeves opposite Henry at cornerback and Nate Jones coming into the slot at nickel.
That's because the Cowboys made the somewhat gutsy decision to cut Glenn, the 14th-year veteran who was one of those who struggled in that third preseason game to "step up." And while he appeared to "step up" in that final preseason game, evidently he was a flight or two short.
Or, several hundred thousands of dollars too expensive.
Remember, Glenn's base salary was $1.7 million, and even though $500,000 was guaranteed, the entire amount would have been guaranteed if he was on the team's 53-man roster this week. Evidently the Cowboys decided that was too much for a guy they had evaluated as but a nickel corner. They didn't trust him to start in case of injury (See Newman), either.
Phillips would not say why, basically pointing out the criteria for keeping players by saying you judge guys by "if they can start, next if we think they will be an eventual starter, next would be a special teams value and also whether he has a special thing he can do - play nickel, nickel rusher, third-down receiver, all those things. There is a lot of criteria."
So cryptically, Phillips is saying, since Newman is considered the starter, and he's still holding out hope of T-New being ready for the opener, and if not then likely for the second game, Glenn is not a starter. Didn't sound as if he considered him an emergency starter and obviously not a potential starter down the line. And since he's not a special teams player, basically the Cowboys would be paying $1.7 million for a nickel back, a guy who might play 35 percent of the snaps.
That, they deemed, was too high a price to pay for what they would be getting.
We'll see, and now there is no turning back since Jacksonville didn't waste any time and didn't seem hesitant to sign the 35-year-old corner on Monday as a potential nickel corner. OK, the Jags want Glenn to compete with Terry Cousins for the nickel spot, but again, since he was a vested veteran, they didn't just pick him up off waivers. They ended up signing the free agent to a new contract, and while the deal has not been disclosed yet, chances are its somewhere between the $1.7 million base he was getting here and the $820,000 10-plus-year veteran minimum . . . maybe no more than just that.
So here is the deal at cornerback. Henry starts on the right side. Newman, they pray starts on the left. But if he doesn't, then the remaining cornerbacks on the roster not named Henry - Reeves, Jones and recently claimed Evan Oglesby - have a combined total of two starts in their combined eight years in the league.
Gosh, on this team this decade, if it's not quarterback it's cornerback. If it's not defensive end, it's kicker - and sometimes it's been - and is -- both.
Now they just must hope this weekend's bold steps don't strike a raw nerve.
