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For most, they say, familiarity breeds contempt. In Jeff Heath’s case, it bred contentment.
“Familiarity,” the former longtime Dallas Cowboys safety admitted, was the driving force behind his decision to swap the star for the skull this offseason.
“It felt right, I have a lot of familiarity with some of the coaches there,” Heath said of the Las Vegas Raiders, his new employer. “Coach Bisaccia was in Dallas with me for my first five years and Coach Marinelli was there too, and I’ve been with him the whole time I was in Dallas. I just got a really good feeling talking to Coach Gruden and Mr. Mayock, obviously Coach Rich and Coach Marinelli, all those guys. A lot of familiarity, it’s going to be fun being a part of something new being the first year in [Las] Vegas, so it all kind of went into that decision.”
Following seven oft-criticized campaigns in Dallas, Heath landed a two-year contract from Las Vegas amid the first wave of NFL free agency. The deal, worth $6 million total, included $2.850 million guaranteed, locking him in as a premium backup/pinch starter for the rebranded Raiders.
Where he joined former Cowboys teammates Jason Witten and Maliek Collins, and ex-Cowboys coaches Rod Marinelli and Rich Bisaccia, the latter of whom helped recruit Heath due to his special teams prowess.
The 2013 undrafted free agent often was more effective on the third side of the ball than the defensive side. Heath totaled 345 combined tackles, 24 pass breakups, eight picks and five forced fumbles across 106 appearances (44 starts) for the Cowboys. His reputation — being caught out of position in coverage — regularly preceded him.
Heath suffered through an injury-marred 2019 in which he made 13 appearances and 63 tackles. He added seven pass deflections but was noticeably sterile from a play-making standpoint, registering zero interceptions or forced fumbles. He underwent shoulder surgery after the season.
The Cowboys opted to move in a different direction, allowing Heath to defect during the signing period while wrangling his replacement, former Packers star Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, as the bookend to Xavier Woods.
Heath, who quickly made his peace about leaving Dallas, has no illusions regarding his role with the Raiders. He won’t see the field on a starter’s basis unless Jonathan Abram or Damarious Randall go down. He’ll be limited to a handful of snaps per game, seeing as how he’s much better against the run than the pass.
His abilities and incapabilities transferred directly to the Raiders. But so did his perpetually-cheery disposition.
“My expectations are really how they’ve been my entire career, I’m expecting to go in and compete and try to earn everything I get,” Heath said. “I’m going to help the team with whatever and in whatever capacity they need me. I’m just going in with the expectation of working hard and building relationships with some new guys and some new coaches, and trying to build a good team and win some games.”
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