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Cowboys & Butler: 'Like an old girlfriend'; a wacky roster build
By Mike Fisher
FRISCO - Brice Butler always did have a wacky way with words. And now that he's boomeranged back to the Dallas Cowboys, the journeyman receiver is part of an offensive roster alignment that is sort of ... well, wacky, too.
"Same thing," he said Tuesday from The Star. "You got an old girlfriend, you know what she like and what she don't like."
What do the Cowboys like about Butler? First off, whatever it is, it's enough to carry seven wide receivers -- two more than I would argue is necessary. Meanwhile, the Cowboys also carry four tight ends (one more than is customary) and have a starting center in Travis Frederick (illness) slated to be inactive every weekend for an indefinite amount of time.
It is, to say, the least, an unconventional path to roster-building.
Butler's addition may be as insurance for a short-term suspension the NFL could hand down to Terrance Williams for his run-in with the law over the summer ... but why not simply perform that transaction when it becomes necessary? There are capital benefits to eventually saying goodbye to receivers like Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson, but those moves don't seem front-burner right now. Tight end Rico Gathers was on the bubble (and arrested for smoking pot) two weeks ago, but as of Sunday night in the win over the Giants, there was the one-time fourth-stringer getting an end-zone target.
So ... why Butler again?
“We wanted to keep him last year when he signed (as a free agent) in Arizona,'' coach Jason Garrett explained. "But now he’s available and you’re always trying to look for ways to improve your team.''
To make room for Butler, Dallas didn't cut another receiver. Rather, as we wrote on Tuesday morning would be the case, the health of Xavier Woods would mean a safety would be cut -- and indeed, Tyree Robinson is now out of a job. (See the details of all the "controversial'' stories coming out of the Dallas receivers room, featuring everybody from Dez Bryant to Josh Gordon, here.)
Butler, who left Dallas a year ago while bad-mouthing this offensive system, has obviously been forgiven. His ability as a deep threat is real (and surely appreciated by QB Dak Prescott, who passed by Butler's new locker on Tuesday to ask playfully, "Speaking of you leaving, why did you leave the first time?") At the same time, he only caught 13 balls all of last year, and underperformed as a Cardinals signee (he was released this summer) ... and when the Cowboys play at Seattle this Sunday, he really ought to be among the handful of candidates under consideration to not even be active for the game, pending what happens with Williams.
Unless the Cowboys plan to dress seven receivers. Or four tight ends. Or who knows how many centers as part of an offense that showed some refreshing creativity in the win over the Giants ... and is certainly showing some odd creativity in roster construction.
By Mike Fisher
FRISCO - Brice Butler always did have a wacky way with words. And now that he's boomeranged back to the Dallas Cowboys, the journeyman receiver is part of an offensive roster alignment that is sort of ... well, wacky, too.
"Same thing," he said Tuesday from The Star. "You got an old girlfriend, you know what she like and what she don't like."
What do the Cowboys like about Butler? First off, whatever it is, it's enough to carry seven wide receivers -- two more than I would argue is necessary. Meanwhile, the Cowboys also carry four tight ends (one more than is customary) and have a starting center in Travis Frederick (illness) slated to be inactive every weekend for an indefinite amount of time.
It is, to say, the least, an unconventional path to roster-building.
Butler's addition may be as insurance for a short-term suspension the NFL could hand down to Terrance Williams for his run-in with the law over the summer ... but why not simply perform that transaction when it becomes necessary? There are capital benefits to eventually saying goodbye to receivers like Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson, but those moves don't seem front-burner right now. Tight end Rico Gathers was on the bubble (and arrested for smoking pot) two weeks ago, but as of Sunday night in the win over the Giants, there was the one-time fourth-stringer getting an end-zone target.
So ... why Butler again?
“We wanted to keep him last year when he signed (as a free agent) in Arizona,'' coach Jason Garrett explained. "But now he’s available and you’re always trying to look for ways to improve your team.''
To make room for Butler, Dallas didn't cut another receiver. Rather, as we wrote on Tuesday morning would be the case, the health of Xavier Woods would mean a safety would be cut -- and indeed, Tyree Robinson is now out of a job. (See the details of all the "controversial'' stories coming out of the Dallas receivers room, featuring everybody from Dez Bryant to Josh Gordon, here.)
Butler, who left Dallas a year ago while bad-mouthing this offensive system, has obviously been forgiven. His ability as a deep threat is real (and surely appreciated by QB Dak Prescott, who passed by Butler's new locker on Tuesday to ask playfully, "Speaking of you leaving, why did you leave the first time?") At the same time, he only caught 13 balls all of last year, and underperformed as a Cardinals signee (he was released this summer) ... and when the Cowboys play at Seattle this Sunday, he really ought to be among the handful of candidates under consideration to not even be active for the game, pending what happens with Williams.
Unless the Cowboys plan to dress seven receivers. Or four tight ends. Or who knows how many centers as part of an offense that showed some refreshing creativity in the win over the Giants ... and is certainly showing some odd creativity in roster construction.