Cowboys Move DB Brandon Carr Off Practice Squad To Roster

Dallas Cowboys Move DB Brandon Carr Off Practice Squad To 55-Man Roster For Rams Game

FRISCO - This has been a week of "elevation'' for 34-year-old defensive back Brandon Carr.

A week ago he was an unemployed 13-year NFL veteran. Then, thanks to a new COVID-19 CBA rule, he was allowed to join the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, becoming one of the two oldest and most veteran players to do so.

And now, after a week of practice inside The Star, Carr is on the trip to Los Angeles and on the 55-man roster for the Cowboys at Rams game scheduled for Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.

"I stay ready," Carr told us this week. "My grind never stops. I'm always staying ready for an opportunity. ... I'm ready to do what it takes to make this squad, but (also) to make the team as competitive as we can be to make a run."

As CowboysSI.com reported exclusively last Saturday, the Cowboys hosted their former starting cornerback, last year a starter with the Baltimore Ravens, here at The Star on Friday with a unique intention.

That intention? To get "eventual'' help in their secondary by asking Carr to start the year on the practice squad.

Carr, 34, has his offseason home in DFW, so the visit was a convenient fit. Also convenient? The new NFL rules that allow more flexibility in who can be on a practice squad.

It's a start-over for Carr, who is an ironman - he started all 16 games a year ago while playing both cornerback (as he once did in Dallas) and safety (where the Cowboys could now use some help).

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Carr's ability to "win'' at corner may be fading. And he's not viewed as a traditional "tackler'' as a safety. But he's a high-quality guy and he's played 192 straight games - the NFL's longest streak among defensive players - and this move makes him part of the weekly expansion to 55 (another COVID-19-era wrinkle). It doesn't mean he'll be one of the 48 players active for the game; maybe Dallas needs to monitor the pre-game health of Chidobe Awuzie (in a fight with rookie Trevon Diggs for a starting corner job) before finalizing that decision.

But no matter what, his weekly paycheck now elevates, too (vets on the P-squad were to make $12,000 a week) and maybe he sticks on the 53 going forward ... though there is no real penalty for shuffling him back down to the practice squad after the game ... and then back up again later.

There is a maximum of two times that can happen before a player can be exposed to being poached by another team, but Carr, a DFW resident, has a relationship with the Cowboys that likely ties him here for a longer term.

"I'm just so consumed on trying to figure out a way to get a ring," Carr said. "I've been playing for, this will be 13 years now. I don't have any hardware. The (ironman) streak is fine, but I want to end this game with some hardware, the ultimate team trophy."