Cowboys Sign Ex Chiefs Second-Round D-Lineman

Dallas Cowboys Sign Ex Chiefs Second-Round D-Lineman Breeland Speaks

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are signing defensive lineman Breeland Speaks - a former second-round NFL Draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs - to their practice squad.

Waived by Kansas City at the September final cuts, Speaks (6-3, 285) spent a month on the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad prior to his Nov. 3 release.

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“That was certainly a unique scenario where, of all the positions – I certainly think we have a very good roster, a very talented roster – that defensive line position is probably our deepest position,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach told the media in September. “With Breeland, a different scheme from when he got here. I, and our staff, thought in his rookie year he did some things that you can really lay a foundation on. And we all know that he came in a little out of shape the next year, and then he had the injury. So, I think when you get behind the eight-ball in professional football, it’s tough. And then when you get behind the eight-ball on a roster with a deep defensive line, it’s even tougher. I will say this – credit to the kid – he did come in in shape and worked hard to get that weight off. Again, he was just up against a very deep and talented defensive line class.”

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Speaks was a 2018 second-round draft decision of the Chiefs. He totaled 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks and appeared in all 16 games as a rookie. He spent part of his second-season campaign on injured reserve. The Ole Miss product also, while he was on IR, handed an NFL suspension of four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

"He came into camp and had lost weight and was healthy and I think he was able to practice throughout the course of the preseason and he worked hard to put himself in that position, so when guys are ready to go, we defer to the medical expertise of our staff and we let them go out there and compete and see how everything shakes out," Veach continued. "Again, it certainly did put him behind the eight-ball in that regard. Not having a year of football is certainly going to be tough.''

Former NFL scout Bryan Broaddus tells us his view of Breeland Speaks:

Our man @BryanBroaddus on @1053thefan on #Cowboys Speaks: ‘Athletic, heavy-handed guy who can play multiple spots on DL ...’ https://t.co/R17FMIlvk0

— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) November 17, 2020

More info on Speaks' background is available via SI in Kansas City here.