Getty The Dallas Cowboys made a late addition heading into training camp.
The Dallas Cowboys proved the team is not done making moves as the franchise signed cornerback Josh Butler on the eve of training camp practices beginning on July 26, 2023. The USFL standout will be competing at a position that already includes several key players fighting for a roster spot.
Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright are both third-year players who have underachieved during their first two seasons in Dallas. DaRon Bland is looking to permanently unseat Jourdan Lewis as the team’s third corner while the veteran returns from a season-ending Lisfranc foot injury. ESPN’S Todd Archer predicted that Joseph will get cut unless Lewis begins the season on the physically unable to perform list.
“Diggs and Gilmore give the Cowboys their best cornerback tandem in years,” Archer wrote on July 25. “Bland led the Cowboys in picks last season as a rookie (five). Lewis could open the season on the physically unable to perform list because of a serious foot injury, which could open a spot for Kelvin Joseph, a 2021 second-rounder who has not found a foothold his first two years.”
Former USFL Standout Josh Butler Is Fighting for a Dallas Cowboys Roster Spot
In their search for depth at cornerback depth, the Cowboys reached back into the USFL pool to sign Josh Butler to their training camp roster.
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Even without Butler, the position was already deep after the Cowboys traded for Stephon Gilmore to begin the offseason. Butler will be fighting for a spot in what has become one of the deeper positions on the roster.
The corner was one of the standout performers during the USFL season notching 29 tackles in 10 starts. During his five years at Michigan State, Butler recorded 52 tackles, 11 pass deflections and 1 sack.
New Dallas Cowboys CB Josh Butler Lost Both of His Parents While at Michigan State
Josh Butler’s parents both died while he was in college.
During his final home game with Michigan State, he came onto the field accompanied by his two dogs for Senior Day 🙏 (via @DavidHarns)
Butler has overcome a massive amount of tragedy to earn an opportunity to potentially play in the NFL. According to Yahoo Sports’ Liz Roscher, Butler lost both of his parents in the final two years of his college career at Michigan State. Butler brought his two beloved adopted dogs to walk out with him on senior night creating a viral moment.
“So instead, Butler brought his adorable dogs Roxy and Remi with him, and brought the excited pups onto the field as his family,”Roscher wrote on December 1, 2019. Butler adopted the dogs as a way to cope with his parents’ separate deaths. His father died in 2017, just ahead of MSU’s big matchup with Penn State.
“…A year and a half later, in spring 2019, Butler would get more bad news: his mother had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. He drove 18 hours to be at her bedside, and was able to hold her hand as she died.”
Cowboys News: Dallas Signed Trevon Diggs to a 5-Year, $97 Million Contract Extension
Five more years of interceptions like these for Dallas. @TrevonDiggs 🔒
One Cowboys cornerback that is not going anywhere anytime soon is star Trevon Diggs. Dallas signed Diggs to a five-year, $97 million contract extension, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“The Cowboys and rising star CB Trevon Diggs have agreed to terms on a 5-year contract extension worth $97M as he becomes one of the highest paid CBs in the NFL, sources say. He gets a max value of $104M,” Rapoport tweeted on July 25. “The Pro Bowler and All-Pro now will stay in Dallas for the long-term.”
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Cowboys Make Last-Minute Signing Amid Key Position Battle