IRVING, Texas - By now, the Cowboys' success with rookie free agents is old news.
Tony Romo is arguably one of the best undrafted players in franchise history, and he's just one of several contributors on this current roster, along with Dan Bailey, Cole Beasley, Barry Church, Ron Leary and Lance Dunbar.
And even though the seven rounds of the NFL Draft have come and gone, the focus immediately shifts to the undrafted rookies.
Cowboys' VP Stephen Jones, the team's director of player personnel, said the Cowboys were expected to sign around 15 players before the start of next weekend's three-day rookie minicamp Valley Ranch.
The Cowboys won't officially sign these players until Thursday when they arrive for their physicals, but among some of the names of players reportedly agreeing to terms include:
- Deontay Greenberry, WR, Houston
- Shane McDermott, C, Miami, Fla.
- Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor- Jameil Showers, QB, UTEP- Lucky Whitehead, WR/KR, Florida Atlantic- Nick Harwell, WR, Kansas- Tim Scott, DB, North Carolina- Joel Ross, CB, Appalachian State- Ray Hamilton, TE, Iowa
However, there will be at least a dozen more players at the minicamp on a tryout basis. Over the last few years, the Cowboys have had some success with those players eventually making it to the roster and even on the 53-man roster. Cornerback Tyler Patmon spent the first rookie minicamp unsigned after getting a workout-invite but impressed the coaches enough to eventually land a spot on the team.
Whether these players are draft picks, undrafted free agents or even workout players who get a contract down the line, head coach Jason Garrett said the best players will make the team, something that doesn't always happen around the league.
"We have a real commitment as an organization to keep the best guys. It really doesn't matter where you come from," Garrett said. "On Thursday night I'm going to stand right here in front of this rookie class and tell them that. We don't care if you're drafted in the first round or you're a college free agent who just got here. We're going to give you a chance to show who you are and how you can contribute to this football team. That's a huge thing for us. Not every organization does that. That's a really, really important philosophy that we have and it's throughout our organization."
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