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Dallas Cowboys Officially Sign Former Ohio State Safety Malik Hooker

The former first-round pick heads to Dallas after four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

Andrew Lind

According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Dallas Cowboys have officially signed former Ohio State safety Malik Hooker to a one-year deal.

"This is a chance to get it another excellent player," head coach Mike McCarthy said in a statement. "Any time you have a chance to continue to build with a competition on the roster, you do it, if it works out for both sides." 

The news has been expected since Friday, when the 6-foot-2 and 212-pound Hooker arrived in Dallas for a workout with the franchise. He had to go through a five-day quarantine period before working out for the coaching staff on Tuesday, which led to his signing.

A former first-round pick (No. 15 overall) of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2017 NFL Draft, Hooker has recorded 124 tackles and seven interceptions across four years in the league. He’s been plagued by injuries, though, as a torn ACL and MCL cut short his rookie season while a torn Achilles limited him to just two games last fall.

The Colts did not exercise Hooker’s fifth-year option, which made him a free agent this offseason. The 25-year-old also visited the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers before coming to terms with the Cowboys.

A former three-star prospect from New Castle, Pa., Hooker was a unanimous All-American during his only season as a starter with the Buckeyes in 2016. He finished that year with seven interceptions, including three that he returned for a touchdown, while leading the program to the College Football Playoff.

Hooker, who is the older brother of Ohio State junior safety Marcus Hooker, is now one of five former Buckeyes on the Cowboys’ roster, joining running back Ezekiel Elliott, long snapper Jake McQuaide and wide receivers Johnnie Dixon and Noah Brown.

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Andrew Lind
ANDREW LIND

Andrew Lind is an Ohio State beat writer and photographer at BuckeyesNow, founder of The Ohio State Uniform Database and the NCAA and NFL writer at SportsLogos.net.

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