'Doomsday' Dallas Cowboys 'Most Dynamic Defense' Adds Playmakers Back to Roster

Good practice news from The Star on nickel corner Jourdan Lewis, safety Malik Hooker and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys - and their "most dynamic defense in more than 40 years'' - are doing some shuffling, in a mostly positive way.

Most importantly, as it pertains specifically to Thursday's practice inside The Star: Safety Malik Hooker is back onto the roster and off the COVID list as of Wednesday, and now so is nickel corner Jourdan Lewis.

Lewis' official activation gives Dallas a crowd of cornerback competitors, with Trevon Diggs on one side and now Lewis back to reclaim a spot in the rotation that last week was filled nicely by rookie Kelvin Joseph. Joseph started in the blowout win over Washington, with Anthony Brown moving inside.

Additionally, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, while still appearing on the midweek injury report, being listed as "limited'' as he takes care of his surgically repaired foot, is set to play Sunday against the visiting Cardinals.

Meanwhile, just as the Cowboys have gotten healthy along the defensive line in recent weeks, with Lawrence, Randy Gregory and Neville Gallimore coming off the injury list, the room to keep a solid contributor on the roster has shriveled up.

That's why defensive tackle Justin Hamilton continued to find himself on the Dallas practice squad. But his work with the varsity is why he is leaving Dallas, as the Denver Broncos on Tuesday signed him off the Dallas p-squad.

And on Wednesday, with Francis Bernard ailing (COVID and groin), Dallas signed special-teams linebacker Devante Bond to the team, starting on the practice squad and participating in workouts in each of the last two days.

Bottom line in Dallas? Start with the outstanding depth that has been developed ... and the production, too. As long-time Cowboys radio voice Brad Sham suggested this week following Dallas' 56-14 shellacking of Washington, "We might be looking at the most dynamic Dallas Cowboys defense in more than 40 years. Haven’t checked stats. They don’t mean anything. Disrupters, playmakers, game-wreckers, I think you have to go back to the 1977-78 Super Bowl teams. ...''

That is saying a mouthful, of course. Those Super Bowl teams featured on defense the likes of "Too Tall'' Jones, Randy White, Harvey Martin, Thomas Henderson, Cliff Harris, Charlie Waters and Mel Renfro.

And of course, Sham is well-aware of another Super Bowl bunch, the 1990's Cowboys with a defense starring Charles Haley, Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson.

This year's "Doomsday''? Gregory, Lawrence, rookie Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs and more lead it. but he's an NFL-caliber contributor and it speaks to the roster that Dallas has constructed that there's just no room for him.

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