Getty Jeff Heath
The Dallas Cowboys are not presently interested in bringing back veteran safety Jeff Heath, who was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, per Mike Fisher of CowboysSI.com.
“A Cowboys team source tells me, Dallas will at this time pass on a reunion with Heath, who turns 30 this month,” Fisher reported Thursday.
Fisher’s hearsay echoes Cowboys vice president of player personnel Will McClay, who was noncommittal when asked about Heath during a recent radio interview.
“We know Jeff and Jeff’s done great things for us and he went to (Las Vegas) and had a great season,” McClay said on 105.3 The Fan following Heath’s release. “But we’re going to go through and look at what we have on the roster and we’re going to look at every opportunity to improve us if it makes sense.”
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Dallas/Vegas Recap
A 2013 undrafted free agent out of small-school Saginaw Valley State, Heath was one of the more memorable players in franchise history — for good and bad reasons alike. He was a team captain and ace special-teamer; that’s the good. He was also notoriously susceptible in coverage; that’s the bad.
Heath totaled 346 combined tackles (267 solo), 24 pass deflections, eight interceptions, and five forced fumbles across 106 appearances (54 starts) for the Cowboys from 2013-19. His best season arguably came in 2018 when he notched a career-high 85 tackles, including six tackles for loss, as well as five PDs and one INT.
Following a mostly nondescript 2019 campaign, Heath defected to the Raiders, inking a two-year, $8 million free-agent contract. He made 13 appearances and only five starts but finished with three picks, two of which were registered in Week 10, earning Heath AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The Raiders released Heath on Tuesday, mere days after the club imported a pair of safeties, second-rounder Trevon Moehrig and fourth-rounder Tyree Gillespie, via the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Cowboys Roster Snapshot
Dallas has come a long way from starting the likes of Heath and Darian Thompson in its last line of defense. The organization — which remains high on developing third-year veteran Donovan Wilson — remodeled its secondary this offseason, signing two free-agent safeties (Damontae Kazee, Jayron Kearse) and adding seventh-round rookie defensive back Israel Mukuamu.
“I thought maybe in the second or third [round] I would get called, but God has a plan for everything,” Mukuamu said after being selected by Dallas. “I am just excited about getting the opportunity to play in the NFL. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity. I am just ready to show my talent.”
The Cowboys are projected to start Wilson and Kazee at safety, with Mukuamu and Kearse operating as the penciled-in backups. New defensive coordinator Dan Quinn confirmed the team’s marquee free-agent acquisition, former Falcons S Keanu Neal, will play linebacker in 2021.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL