The latest news around the Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Booker on pressure of being Cowboys’ first pick of Schottenheimer era: ‘I’m a natural born leader’ – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
Tyler Booker is ready to bring his natural leadership to the Dallas Cowboys.
“To be the leader of this [rookie] group, I take a lot of pride in that,” said Booker. “I’m just a natural born leader so, with my fellow rookies, I’m excited to continue to learn and grow with them.”
Coincidentally, or rather fated, depending upon your belief system, Booker is joining a Cowboys’ organization that is undergoing a sweeping change within the coaching ranks after recently coming face-to-face with a similar situation in Tuscaloosa.
Nick Saban announced his retirement in the days following the conclusion of the 2023 season, forcing Booker to reevaluate his future in the program. Would he follow some of his Roll Tide compatriots and enter the transfer portal for a program with a more proven and stable coaching situation in 2024, or would he stay put and weather the storm and, in the process, potentially help the incoming head coach, Kalen DeBoer, lead the team forward.
He’d ultimately choose to stick around, and his explanation as to why further solidifies his view on what it means to be a leader — now also able to take lessons learned from that transition to helping Schottenheimer in one of his own..
“This last year helped me a lot,” Booker said. “Not just as a football player, but as a man. Going into [last] year with a lot of uncertainty and having to weather the storm, and then just not having the success that I wanted, that I was the same person every day. Even when we were losing the games that we shouldn’t have lost, I was the same person. I was the same Tyler Booker, every day.
“That taught me how to be resilient even more than I already was. I feel like this last year, that last year at Alabama added more to who I am as a man.”
Ex-Dallas Cowboys QB at peace with past as he helps those to avoid his mistakes – Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Catching up with Quincy Carter.
Quincy Carter’s ‘Why”
Carter said he is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and follows their 12-step recovery process. One of his sponsors is former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson.
Carter is a grandfather now, and has seven children who live in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, North Dakota and Mississippi.
“Six moms,” he said. “It ain’t personal. I tell it.”
Carter returned to Georgia where he now runs his own foundation, and coaches young people and players. His approach with the kids, who range from middle school to college, is to just tell his truth. Unvarnished. No trick photography, or Instagram filters to make it look pretty.
He was an NFL player who used drugs, and it derailed his career.
“I put a lot of work in and I drove myself to be that guy on the field but when I came off the field I started that weed thing,” he said.
One detail to Carter’s time with the NFL that most people didn’t know, or forgot, was that under Parcells, Carter put in the time. He worked at it; he stayed late, studied film, and in 2003 he was an improving NFL quarterback with a future. Maybe not Tom Brady’s future, but a future.
“I had picked up the weed thing my first couple of years when I played minor league baseball, and it followed me to college and into the NFL,” he said. “I had a secret life going on. I would sit here and say, ‘Oh, thank you Lord,’ and then going out and doing things I had no business doing.”
And that went well beyond a marijuana joint. His aim now is to deter any kid from trying any of it, even if it is legal. Because even if it’s legal, it can be lethal.
The Cowboys still need to decide on a starting nickel cornerback – Connor Livesay, Blogging the Boys
While the Cowboys front office nailed the draft, there are still questions about who will be the team’s starting nickel without Jourdan Lewis.
The issue? None of those players are primary slot cornerbacks. Elam and Revel played primarily on the outside in Buffalo and at East Carolina. Both guys are taller, longer, and fit the boundary cornerback profile more. Mukuamu has seen some time in the slot for the Cowboys over the course of his four-year career in Dallas, but his lack of experience (three starts) and ideal fit to be a full-time nickel cornerback leaves the Cowboys with an interesting hole to fill.
Over the last five years, the slot corner position has gone from being just another corner to one of the most valuable positions in the National Football League. With so many of the best wide receivers in football spending a lot of time in the slot, having a quality slot defender or outside cornerback that can comfortably follow wideouts into the slot has become extremely valuable.
With Trevon Diggs unlikely to be ready for the start of the season, and Shavon Revel still rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered at the beginning of the 2024 season, the Cowboys will need to figure some things out in their secondary during training camp. There are still a few quality slot cornerbacks on the free agent market like Mike Hilton and Asante Samuel Jr. that the Cowboys could look to sign to fill their slot need, or hold them over until Diggs and Revel get back up to full strength.
For now, it looks like the Cowboys will give many of their corners a shot in training camp to win the starting nickel role. Or they could move DaRon Bland back inside if they think they have a pair to play on the outside. But do not be surprised if the Cowboys look to bring in a veteran to solidly the position before training camp with the current injuries and holes the Cowboys are currently dealing with at the cornerback position.
Cowboys rookie minicamp: How Brian Schottenheimer plans to be ‘really successful’ – Jon Machota, The Athletic
In his opening press conference of rookie minicamp, Brian Schottenheimer set the standard for the team’s success in 2025.
The entire nine-man draft class and all nine undrafted rookie free agents were in attendance. Dallas has already signed seven of its nine draft picks, including first-round pick Tyler Booker. The only contracts left to finalize are second-round defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku and fifth-round running back Jaydon Blue.
The group worked Saturday on the grass practice field, as the turf field was being prepared for the Academy of Country Music Awards being held inside the Ford Center on Thursday night.
The players wore helmets and practice jerseys but were not in full pads. The work was limited to team stretching and individual drills.
This was the first opportunity for reporters to see how things will be under the new head coach. Schottenheimer and his mostly new coaching staff brought noticeable energy. He made sure to hustle around to all position groups, interacting with players and coaches as music blared throughout. He maintains that while he is the offensive play caller, his connection with the entire team won’t change. He wants to know “exactly what’s going on in every room and in every drill.”
“I love being on the grass,” Schottenheimer said. “That’s where as a coach you truly get lost. You get lost in the moment, you get lost in the chance to connect and put hands on and get involved in the drills. I’m a very on-the-go coach. I think you will see that with our staff, they’re very on-the-go and (have) great energy and great juice. That’s what it’s about.
“Anybody can coach them in the meeting room. It’s about being able to take the stuff from the meeting room to the field, but also the development, the fundamentals. (It’s important) for a coach to be able to take a small, simple detail, break it down into the building blocks and then get a player to execute it. That’s how you take a good player to a great player and a great player to a superstar.”
