Mazi Smith very demanding of himself in 2025 – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
The former first-round pick knows he needs to do more.
OXNARD, Calif. — It appears no one is harder on Mazi Smith than himself. As he enters his third year in the NFL and for the Dallas Cowboys, the former first-round pick does so with another change at defensive coordinator, literally a new one every year of his career, the latest being Matt Eberflus in his reunion with the organization this offseason.
With that comes a new scheme and set of demands regarding his weight, which as now fluctuated downward from Year 1 under Dan Quinn, to upwards with Mike Zimmer and now down again — as Eberflus seeks to fit him into an attack front.
The union is off to a slow start to start the preseason though, as Smith left SoFi Stadium with no tackles in 14 defensive snaps; and it led to the former Wolverine being brutally honest about what he saw on film and in real time on Saturday.
“I just have to keep getting better,” Smith said. “The first [preseason game], I wasn’t happy with at all, to be honest. I didn’t do anything. I just need to keep learning the scheme and keep getting off the ball.
”I just didn’t do anything, you know? Like, you gotta do something. I’m a first-round pick. There’s expectations, and all that.
“This is my third year.”
But exactly how difficult has it been to try and adjust to a different coordinator, literally annually?
“It’s not hard, bro.” said Smith. “It’s just that everybody sees things a little differently. You gotta [understand] it’s my job to get on the same page with each and every person that comes in this building.”
Credit him for the self-awareness and accountability, and for remaining hellbent on making an impact for the Cowboys, still holding his head high as he sticks to the grind of trying to figure out how to be a key piece of what Eberflus does on a weekly basis — at a huge position of need, no less.
Smith has maintained his smile despite the road ahead, and though you could say he has 99 problems, letting social media determine his mood and work ethic isn’t one of them.
“The only people that should be expecting anything out of me is our fan base and the people in this building, you know?” he said. “If you ain’t that, I ain’t trying to hear it. And even with a lot of people on social media, I really ain’t trying to hear it.”
It’s back to practice this week in preparation for the Baltimore Ravens in the second preseason outing, and Smith isn’t content to simply collect a paycheck.
As he so eloquently stated, he has to do something, and that’s all he’s focused on.
The Cowboys running back may not see the field after missing practice.
The Dallas Cowboys are finishing up their business trip to Oxnard, California, with their final practice on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the team will travel back to Dallas in preparation for meeting the Baltimore Ravens this Saturday in their second preseason game.
The team was desperate to find some help in the backfield in their first preseason game with the Los Angeles Rams. The unit has been ravaged by injury.
It looks like that could be the same issue for Saturday’s game, too.
Rookie running back Jaydon Blue missed practice again on Wednesday. Earlier in camp, Blue suffered a bruised ankle, which has the coaching staff being extra cautious for the rookie.
Blue, along with Miles Sanders, both missed the team’s first preseason game, so the franchise brought in Malik Davis, who had quite an impressive preseason debut against the Rams.
The Cowboys are handling Blue’s health correctly, but it is unfortunate the rookie has yet to make his debut on the field.
In last week’s game against the Rams, it was Davis and Phil Mafah who carried most of the load in the backfield. Although the team did not have a running play for the entirety of the first quarter. Getting healthy for September is far more important than pushing the limits for August.
Cowboys Defensive Back Breaks Silence on Contract Extension Talks – Owen Crisafulli, Heavy.com
Another All-Pro Cowboys defender is pushing for a contract extension.
The Dallas Cowboys have had their hands full with superstar linebacker Micah Parsons looking for a contract extension from the team ahead of the 2025 campaign. Now, it seems like they may have another star player, cornerback DaRon Bland, looking for a new deal as well.
While Bland only suited up for seven games in 2024, he enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023 that saw him earn a spot on the All-Pro First Team and a Pro Bowl selection. And while all the drama surrounding Parsons has demanded the Cowboys’ attention, it sounds like Bland would like a new contract in the near future, too.
After getting selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Bland immediately earned a role in the Cowboys’ secondary, playing in all 17 games as a rookie, with eight of them being starts. 2023 was when Bland really broke out, as he racked up 69 tackles, a league-leading nine interceptions (five of which he returned for touchdowns), and 15 pass deflections. From out of nowhere, Bland became one of the best ballhawks in the league.
2024 didn’t go quite as smoothly for Bland, as he missed the first 10 games of the season due to a stress fracture in his foot. When he returned, he struggled to make his typical impact, as he didn’t record a single interception after totaling 14 over the first two seasons of his career. That left Bland in a weird spot when it comes to his contract situation entering the 2025 season.
Bland is in the final year of his rookie deal, so it’s not a surprise that he’s looking for a pay raise. With Dallas focusing on Parsons, though, there hasn’t been much attention on Bland’s contract negotiations. And while the star cornerback made it clear he wants a new deal, he also isn’t looking to be an unnecessary distraction for his team as they prepare for the new season.
“I do, but I’m not here to talk about it really too much,” Bland said of potential contract talks with the Cowboys, per Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com. “But yeah, hopefully.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reveals past cancer diagnosis and credits experimental drug – Associated Press via NFL.com
The Cowboys’ owner reveals a recent cancer diagnosis and his recovery.
OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones credited an experimental trial drug for successfully treating advanced melanoma as he disclosed his cancer diagnosis publicly for the first time.
Jones revealed his illness in a documentary, “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” which will debut on Netflix next week. The 82-year-old Jones then told The Dallas Morning News how he was initially diagnosed in June 2010 and underwent two surgeries on his lung and two on his lymph nodes over the next 10 years after skin cancer cells metastasized to other parts of his body.
“I was saved by a fabulous treatment and great doctors and a real miracle (drug) called PD-1 (therapy),” Jones said. “I went into trials for that PD-1, and it has been one of the great medicines. I now have no tumors.”
First-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer described Jones’ fight with cancer as an “amazing story” and praised him for going public.
“I’m glad that Jerry shared it, just because I think it gives people hope,” Schottenheimer said Wednesday. “It gives people the strength to say, ‘OK,’ you know, ‘Hey, you can beat this.’”
Schottenheimer, 51, used his last news conference of the Cowboys’ nearly monthlong stay in Southern California to talk about his own cancer diagnosis. He underwent surgery in 2003 for thyroid cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Then-Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder helped arrange Schottenheimer’s treatment two years after firing his father, Marty Schottenheimer, as head coach. Brian Schottenheimer was Washington’s quarterbacks coach during the 2001 season, the same year Snyder himself was treated for thyroid cancer.
“It doesn’t discriminate against anybody,” Schottenheimer said. “And mine was certainly less serious, but I was 28 when I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Nothing like Stage 4, nothing like what Jerry and other people have to go through. But you hear that word ‘cancer,’ and it scares the hell out of you.”
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