FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys are once again shaking up their wide receiver corps ahead of their Week 10 trip to Philadelphia.
The team confirmed Friday afternoon that two receivers are joining the 53-man roster, as Noah Brown is being activated from injured reserve and Lance Lenoir is coming up from the practice squad. To make room on the roster, the Cowboys released veteran receiver Deonte Thompson and second-year cornerback Treston Decoud.
It's been a long road back to the field for Brown, who carved out a small role for himself as a rookie last year. Brown injured his hamstring during the very early days of training camp, and his second season never got off the ground.
The Cowboys kept him on their roster through final cuts and then immediately moved him to injured reserve, where he has remained these past two months – until now.
This will be Lenoir's second stint on the active roster, after the Cowboys activated him for the 2017 season finale – also played in Philadelphia, coincidentally. With eight games still to play this season, Lenoir said he's excited to have an opportunity to contribute.
"They called me up for a reason, so it's time to step up, go out there and make plays in the kicking game and also on offense – wherever they put me," Lenoir said.
These two additions give the Cowboys seven receivers on their active roster, though it's likely that only six will be active on Sunday, as Tavon Austin is still recovering from a groin injury.
Thompson was one of several offseason additions the Cowboys made during free agency, but the veteran had seen his role drop significantly since the overtime loss to Houston on Oct. 7. Thompson played just three offensive snaps in Monday's loss to Tennessee, so it makes sense the coaching staff might want to go in a different direction.
The Cowboys signed Decoud to their practice squad back at the start of the season, and he was called up to the active roster ahead of Monday's game against the Titans.
It remains to be seen how the Cowboys will use the two young wide outs against the Eagles, but it's a good bet both players will have a healthy role on special teams to start.
