Cowboys Keep Both Swaim and Hanna

In the end, the Dallas Cowboys decided to keep four tight ends.

It was widely assumed that they’d keep only three, and given that Jason Witten and Gavin Escobar were locks, that left seventh round pick Geoff Swaim and James Hanna--a sixth round pick out of Oklahoma in 2012--to fight it out for the last roster spot.  And with Swaim playing well, and Hanna dealing with a knee injury that kept him out for the final three preseason games, it looked like Hanna might be the odd man out. So we thought, anyway.

“He’s a young player,” Garrett said of Swaim, per the Dallas Morning News. “There’s no question about that. He goes about it the right way. I think he recognizes the room that he’s in with coach Pope and with Witt and the other guys. I think he’s learned a lot each and every day. So there’s a lot to like about him.”

Meanwhile, the Cowboys couldn’t bring themselves to let Hanna go, probably because of what he brings to the table as a blocker.

“To be successful in the running game, you need tight ends who can block,” Hanna said last week. “I have always valued that and I’ve improved since I’ve been in the NFL.”