After recently parting ways with the St. Louis Rams, former Mizzou star Michael Sam has been signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. "It’s great to be heading back to my home state," he told the Daily Mail's website. "It's been a roller coaster this past week, but I'm happy where I'm at now. I'm just looking forward to being a Cowboy. My focus is on making the team."
In the meantime, head coach Jason Garrett said the team's focus is on this Sunday's season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. "I don’t want to spend too much time talking about a player not on the active roster,” Garrett said during his Wednesday press conference, after several questions about the signing of the NFL’s first openly gay player. “Our attention and focus is on the 49ers.” (It will soon turn to St. Louis, however, when the Cowboys play the Rams on September 21.)
Garrett called the media attention surrounding Sam’s signing “an external thing.” “What other people say, we don’t care about," he said. "This is about football. We evaluated [Sam] as a football player, and we think he can help us. We want to make sure we are giving ourselves the best chance.”
Given the current state of the Cowboys defense, Sam has a decent chance of playing. Defensive lineman George Selvie did not practice Tuesday because of an injured shoulder and might not play on Sunday against the 49ers. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will not play for eight weeks after breaking his foot in training camp, and defensive end Anthony Spencer is still recovering from last season’s knee surgery. This creates an opportunity for Sam to not only compete on the practice squad, but possibly to be signed to the 53-man roster.
"I love him with the Cowboys," retired Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin told TMZ. "He knows how to get to the quarterback. When you are trying to get players—and the Cowboys need players who can get to the quarterback—you sign Michael Sam."
The signing was not the only Cowboys story with a St. Louis tie. Defensive tackle Josh Brent, who was charged with intoxication manslaughter after the death of teammate and St. Louis native Jerry Brown in 2012, was conditionally reinstated by the NFL.
"I'm very happy Josh has been reinstated with the Dallas Cowboys,” Brown’s mother, Stacey Jackson, told The Dallas Morning News. "My beautiful son is in heaven now, and Josh has to be given a chance to live his life and do something for someone else. We all make mistakes, and we all have an entrance date and an exit day. Although I miss Jerry every day, I know he would be very happy that Josh has another chance to play football."
