The Cowboys have patched some holes this offseason with minimal upgrades. And come Week 1 they’ll hopefully have back a healthy Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick.
Still, it remains difficult for some of us to believe in them as legit contenders for the NFC East because of, well, Brandon Carr.
Since Thanksgiving Day 2013 Carr has played in 36 consecutive games on a defense that has seen more than 1,000 passes thrown its way. In that time, he has exactly zero interceptions.
I know, that seems almost unfathomable.
You’d think Carr, if only by accident, would be at the right place at the right time for a pick or two over a full season. Much less 36 games.
But as healthy as he’s been able to stay, his big-play production is just glaringly void.
So here we are headed toward the end of free agency, the draft and the start of off-season work, and guess who is still a Cowboys’ starting cornerback? Yep. Yuck.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
The Cowboys talked to Nolan Carroll and Leon Hall and thought they had a deal in place to sign Patrick Robinson. Alas, none are Cowboys. Despite his preposterous $9 million salary, Carr still is.
With zero leverage to use as encouragement, the Cowboys’ desires to re-work Carr’s contract at a lesser price isn’t very effective. Carr hasn’t been good. But at this point he’s bargaining position can be “You don’t have anyone better.”
Bottom line: The Cowboys paid Carr to be great. He’s been only average. And they’d be well-served to do better.
Said head coach Jason Garrett at last week’s owners’ meetings: “He, like everyone on our defense, we would like them to be more impactful, more productive. We need to take the ball away more.”
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
