Jaylon Smith Signs With Pittsburgh Steelers: Dallas Cowboys NFL Tracker
DEC 26 JAYLON TO PITTSBURGH Jaylon Smith, the former Dallas second-round pick and one-time Pro Bowler, is signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to his agency.
Smith, who overcame a devastating injury from his final game at Notre Dame to forge a successful career in Dallas, will open on the Steelers practice squad.
DEC 25 ZEKE LEAP The New England Patriots on Christmas Eve benefitted from a trademark Ezekiel Elliott move in what became a big comeback win over the Denver Broncos.
That move? Cowboys fans know it … it’s that “hurdle” that he did so often in a Dallas uniform … and it helped him get to the goal line in this game.
Elliott took a backfield pass from Bailey Zappe during the third quarter and headed toward the end zone. … but then encountered a defender …
And Elliott hurdled over him and then made the dive toward paydirt.
The Patriots moved to 4-11 with the win. They are going nowhere except the NFL Draft. But “Vintage Zeke” was a fun moment.
DEC 24 DRIVE RUINED Dallas opened Sunday NFL Week 16 in a textbook manner, with a lengthy, clutch and impressive drive … until the goal line was approached, at which time rookie fullback Hunter Luepke appeared to bull his way into the end zone for a game-opening score.
Except Luepke didn’t have the ball.
The Cowboys fumbled the handoff exchange between Luepke and QB Dak Prescott, ruining a truly ideal way to start … and spoiling the team’s openly-stated “start fast” desire.
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DEC 23 KELVIN MOVED The Seattle Seahawks have made some roster moves ahead of Sunday’s meeting at the Tennessee Titans, with cornerback Kelvin Joseph – the former Cowboys second-round pick – maybe shifting back into the spotlight.
“Joseph and (Ty) Okada will bolster Seattle’s secondary depth with safety Jamal Adams ruled out due to a knee injury, and cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon (hip) and Tre Brown (heel) listed as questionable,” wrote the Seahawks official team site.
Joseph was signed to Seattle’s practice squad last month after being cut by the Miami Dolphins, who traded for him from Dallas.
DEC 15 BILLS RULE OUT TWO The Bills defense is about to be short-handed as safety Micah Hyde (stinger) and defensive end A.J. Epenesa (rib) are both ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. … who happen to be the highest-scoring team in the NFL.
Buffalo (7-6) and Dallas (10-3) are set to kickoff at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday in a nationally televised FOX broadcast.
DEC 13 AUBREY HONORED! After becoming the first player in the history of the NFL to kick two field goals of at least 59 yards in one game, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
He’s enjoying an incredible rookie season as this is his second Player of the Week honor after winning it in Week 8 too.
Against the Eagles, Aubrey successfully kicked field goals of 60, 59, 45, and 50 yards.
DEC 10 MICAH ILLNESS? ‘ALIVE’ ANSWER The Dallas Cowboys enter their “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles having spend the week with a clean bill of health … until Sunday morning, when it was revealed that Micah Parsons had come down with what seems to be a flu-like issue.
The Cowboys say Micah will play, and given the All-Pro’s history in Dallas, we should not be surprised.
Earlier this week, Parsons talked of wanting to be a player who could not be “fazed,” of being “unstoppable” and “un-(bleep)-with-able.”
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So surely an illness won’t “bleep” him up, right?
We can also reflect back to October 2022 for a glimpse into Parsons’ approach. They were playing the Rams, and they were underdogs as Dak Prescott was out.
But they won as a 22-10 upset win with was sealed with a Parsons strip-sack – even though he was hurting.
Parsons said his left groin injury occurred late in first quarter. He kept playing, of course, while spending some sideline time on an exercise bike.
Then-defensive assistant George Edwards checked on Parsons to see if he was a “go.”
“George,” Parsons told him, “as long as I’m alive, I can go.'”
That was true then. We bet it remains true now.
DEC 7 SHAQ CITES SIRIANNI AS DIFFERENCE OVER COWBOYS It wasn’t exactly Brotherly Love but a certain sense of familiarity drew Shaquille Leonard to Lincoln Financial Field.
Leonard, a newly-minted Philadelphia Eagle, spoke about his decision to don green as his new employers prepare to do battle with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night (7:20 p.m. CT, NBC). As the long-time rivals sought a defensive difference in the homestretch of a season that has each on top of the NFC East, each tried to woo Leonard. According to the four-time All-Pro, a familiar face in the head coaching spot in the form of Nick Sirrianni ultimately provided the difference.
“Nick and I were together in Indy. Nick is a great coach, great competitor,” Leonard declared, per The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I wanted to go somewhere that fit me, to a coach who knew who I was as a person and as a player.”
Leonard spent his first three NFL seasons (2018-20) working against Sirianni’s offensive sets when the two shared time with the Indianapolis Colts. Under Sirianni’s watch as offensive coordinator, the Colts appeared among the top 10 offenses and reached the playoffs twice in three years. That success drew the Eagles attention and they hired Sirianni to succeed Doug Pederson in 2021.
Going up against Leonard in practice appeared to leave a lasting impact on Sirianni, who has amassed a 33-13 record over two-plus seasons in Philadelphia, which has hosted his first head coaching job of any kind.
“He’s got a knack for the football,” Sirianni said in Tolentino’s report. “That isn’t just my vision of watching him play recently, but also the practice reps I have against him. So, him in pass coverage, his length and his instinct is really outstanding‚ and he’s got a nose for the ball.”
DEC. 4 COWBOYS RADIO VOICE OUT OF HOSPITAL – Iconic Cowboys’ radio voice Brad Sham is out of the hospital, resting up and hoping to return for Sunday night’s showdown against the Eagles at AT&T Stadium.
Said Sham in a text to CowboysSI.com Monday afternoon, “Exhausted after 3 days in the hospital. … Resting up and hoping to be back Sunday night.”
Sham, 74, said he “fell ill” on the way to the Cowboys-Seahawks game last Thursday night. He checked into a hospital for tests and was kept over the weekend. A member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame, he has been the team’s signature voice since 1976 except for a three-year stretch in the 1990s when he joined Eric Nadel in the Texas Rangers’ radio booth.
DallasCowboys.com host Kyle Youmans called the 41-35 win over the Seahawks along longtime color analyst Babe Laufenberg.
DEC 3 WITTENS REACH HIGH SCHOOL GLORY Flanked by his sons CJ and Cooper, renowned Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten capped off his third season at the helm of Liberty Christian High School in championship style.
The Argyle-based private school dominated the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Division II state championship game on Friday night, dominating Regents to the tune of a 52-10 final. This championship victory comes just two years after Witten endured a two-win campaign in his debut and also secured the first perfect season in program history.
“These kids have taught me so much,” Witten told Jett Beachum of CBS News Texas after the game. “This is why I fell in love with the game as a kid, the life lessons we learn and these kids will take this with them for the rest of their life.”
NOV 30 COWBOYS NEARLY SWEEP NOVEMBER NFC POTM AWARDS The Dallas Cowboys were rewarded for a strong November upon the NFL’s release of the Players of the Month for November: quarterback Dak Prescott and cornerback DaRon Bland have respectively been named the top men in offense and defense respectively, while Chicago’s Cairo Santos prevented an exclusive Dallas batch in special teams.
Prescott is in the midst of perhaps his finest professional season to date and November hosted his finest hours yet: in four games, Prescott posted a 121.7 passer rating created by a 13-touchdown output compared to only one interception. While Prescott has cut down on his interceptions, the same can’t be said about Bland, albeit in the best way possible: last Thursday’s Thanksgiving shellacking of the Washington Commanders saw the second-year Cowboy set a new NFL single-season record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown, as the final touch of a 45-10 victory over the Washington Commanders was his fifth.
NOV 29 WALKER DOUBTFUL VS. COWBOYS Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker is officially doubtful for Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, per NFL Network.
Walker, the runner-up for Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, has continued his hot start to his career in Year 2. In 10 games this season, the former Michigan State Spartan has rushed for 613 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 4.1 yards per carry.
Walker suffered an oblique injury in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 19, which also caused him to miss a loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thanksgiving. If Walker cannot go, the Cowboys should expect a heavy dose of second-round rookie Zach Charbonnet.
NOV 27 WHOOPI WHALLOPS DOLLY CRITICS Actor and television host Whoopi Goldberg offered an impassioned defense of country music Dolly Parto
