Getty Chris Covington (No. 59)
Now starts the trimming-the-fat portion of the NFL calendar.
All 32 organizations added several, if not dozens, of rookies through the draft and subsequent undrafted signing period. With 90-man rosters over maximum capacity, this is when some of the deep reserve-types, rendered obsolete, receive their walking papers.
Two players drew short straws with the Dallas Cowboys: Linebacker Chris Covington and cornerback D.J. White. Both were waived Thursday, the team announced.
A former quarterback at Indiana University, Covington (6-2, 245) converted to linebacker as a sophomore and finished his collegiate career with 118 tackles (70 solo), 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, and five pass breakups. Dallas took him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft.
Covington made five appearances as a rookie, notching just one tackle. He hadn’t played in a regular-season game until the Cowboys promoted him from the practice squad last September. He was released, signed back to the taxi squad, and elevated again in December, after the injury bug claimed starting LBs Leighton Vander Esch and Sean Lee.
Covington finished his sophomore campaign with two tackles across three games. He’s the second Covington lost by Dallas this offseason, joining defensive lineman Christian Covington (no relation), whom the Denver Broncos recently signed.
White landed on the Cowboys’ practice squad last November and was not called up to the active roster. A 2016 sixth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, he’s been a nomad over the past calendar year, sharing proverbial cups of coffee with the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, and Atlanta Falcons.
White’s services were no longer needed after Dallas overhauled its CB corps, parting ways with Byron Jones and importing veterans Daryl Worley and Maurice Canady and highly-prized rookies Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson. The club also re-signed Anthony Brown.
Covington, too, became expendable following the return of Lee and Vander Esch, the presence of Jaylon Smith, and the signing (and potential reinstatement) of Aldon Smith. Additionally, the Cowboys spent a fifth-round pick on Utah edge rusher Bradlee Anae.
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