Getty Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys looks on before a game.
The Dallas Cowboys are adding a wide receiver, but it is not the one most fans have been waiting for heading into the team’s stretch run. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Dallas is signing a pair of former Browns: wideout Antonio Callaway and center Brock Hoffman. The news comes after the Cowboys hosted Callaway for a workout prior to the team’s Week 10 matchup versus the Packers.
“The Cowboys have added WR Antonio Callaway and C Brock Hoffman to the practice squad and put Alec Lindstrom (back) on injured reserve and released DE Mika Tafua,” Archer tweeted on November 15, 2022. “Callaway worked out for the team last week and has 53 catches for 695 yards and five touchdowns in his career.”
Callaway has had a complicated NFL career after flashing for the Florida Gators. The playmaker had 43 receptions for 586 yards and five touchdowns in 16 appearances during his rookie season with the Browns in 2018. Callaway was then handed a ten-game suspension in 2019 for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
The receiver played in just four games and was released by Cleveland in November 2019. Callaway served another suspension in 2020 before having brief stints with the Dolphins and Chiefs. The wideout has not played in an NFL game since 2020.
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Dallas is hoping Callaway has finally turned the corner and are taking a bet on the receiver’s elite talent. It represents a low-risk move for the Cowboys as the team is signing the wideout to their practice squad.
Callaway was selected by the Browns in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft but likely would have gone off the board earlier if not for off-field concerns. Heading into the draft, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah compared Callaway to former NFL Swiss Army knife Percy Harvin.
“Just studied Florida WR/PR Antonio Callaway– obviously has several off field issues to sort out but he’s incredibly talented,” Jeremiah tweeted on February 18, 2018. “Reminds me of Percy Harvin coming out of college. He’s explosive, elusive and instinctive.”
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The Browns tied the game on this absurd Antonio Callaway TD… and then missed the PAT to take the lead #CLEvsNO
Concerns had Callaway off of some team’s draft boards which also contributed to his fall. Callaway had 89 receptions for 1,399 yards and seven touchdowns during his two collegiate seasons for the Gators.
“I just watched him. Really natural athlete and pretty good player but there are just too many headaches to deal with so I can’t see us taking a chance on him,” one team pro personnel director told NFL.com prior to the 2018 draft. “Our owner will say no and I don’t even think we would put him on our board to be honest.”
The addition of Callaway is not expected to impact the Cowboys’ pursuit of Odell Beckham Jr. Outside of CeeDee Lamb and Noah Brown, the Dallas receiver group has mostly been a disappointment this season. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Callaway to DeMarcus Robinson in his pre-draft profile.
“Make no mistake about it, if Callaway had put together a trouble-free 2017 with even average production, he would be one, big Combine performance away from being one of the more buzzed about talents at the receiver position in this draft,” Zierlein wrote at the time. “However, his character concerns are at a point where they could derail any opportunity for a career. His talent and explosiveness gives him a good shot at making a roster at some point, but being able to stay on track and reach his potential is starting to feel unlikely. If he pulls it together, he could become a dangerous NFL talent.”