Dallas Cowboys sign DT Marvin Austin; Stephen Jones: We had him graded as a second-round type talent in 2011
By Jon Machota
jmachota@dallasnews.com
4:05 pm on October 21, 2013 | Permalink
IRVING – The Dallas Cowboys have added another defensive linemen, but this one doesn’t exactly fall into the “no-name” category.
Marvin Austin, a 2011 second-round pick out of North Carolina, signed Monday.
The New York Giants drafted Austin with the 52nd overall pick but he did not play during his rookie season because of a chest injury. The 6-2, 312-pounder played eight games in 2012 before being part of the Giants’ final round of cuts this year. The Miami Dolphins signed Austin, 24, on Sept. 24 and he was released on Oct. 15 after playing in two games.
“He has moved around a little bit, but we had him as a guy we liked if we had been in the 4-3,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “Had we been running the 4-3, we had him as a second-round type of talent. Rod [Marinelli], evidently at Chicago, worked him out as well. And they had him high on their board.
“We’re going to give the guy a shot here, just as we have throughout the season, going all the way back to training camp to the George Selvies of the world. Give the guy an opportunity. If he comes in here and buys into what Rod’s doing, he can certainly help us out.”
Those who follow college football recruiting have likely heard of Austin. He was ranked as the top defensive tackle in the country coming out of high school in 2007.
“He’s a good player,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Monday. “He’s a guy we thought a lot of coming out of school. He’s one of those guys we kept our eye on.
“Obviously our situation on the defensive line, we’ve had a lot of different injuries up there, so you look at the landscape of personnel and see you who can bring in and try to help your football team. He’s in pretty decent shape because he’s been in training camp and been playing. We’d like to tap into some of that ability that caused him to be such a high draft pick.”