In December, the incessant struggles of Nick Folk prompted Dallas to hold a try-out, which Shaun Suisham won, eventually replacing Folk as the Cowboys' place kicker; among those also-rans was kicker Connor Hughes, who--after Suisham proved unreliable late in the season--was signed to a reserve/future contract last month.
Now, logic would dictate that Suisham was the best of that group who auditioned in mid-December; he got the job, after all. But, according to Hughes, this is not the case.
The former Arena League stud told the Virginia Gazette (per the Dallas Morning News) that he outperformed Suisham (and everyone else, presumably) in the try-out, but was passed over due to a lack of experience.
"This happened only by the grace of God," Hughes said in reference to his signing. "This doesn't make sense to me how it would be a possibility, but it somehow worked out.
"I was invited to work out a few weeks ago with four other guys, and despite doing the best, my lack of experience was a concern for them. I guess they didn't feel comfortable with how he [Suisham] finished the year and decided after the season to give me a shot. I thought it might happen but had no real guarantees."
Hughes is indeed fairly lacking in the experience department. He's spent time with three NFL teams including Dallas, but has yet to see any action in a regular season game. Hughes's only game experience, since going undrafted out of Virginia in 2006, has come with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe and the (Bon Jovi-owned) Philadelphia Soul of the now-defunct Arena League.
