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Late last night, the Dallas Cowboys were thought to have made a nice upgrade to their offensive line in the form of 33-year-old former New York Jet Brandon Moore. The former Pro Bowler had agreed to a $1.75 million deal Tuesday night with the Cowboys, fulfilling a desperate need on the interior of the offensive front.
But in an odd twist, Moore decided to retire from the NFL this morning, a mere 12 hours after he agreed to terms with the Cowboys. This still leaves the team with a void at the guard positions, a spot in need of some strengthening following the loss of 2012 starter Nate Livings to a knee injury for the next few weeks. Last week, it was reported that the Cowboys had expressed interest in veteran Brian Waters. Right now, they need to make that interest a reality.
The team seems to have found a starter at the other guard spot in Ronald Leary – though I would like to see more from him than just one preseason game to truly tell whether he can start in this league — but the other guard spot is still a question mark.
Much has been made since Waters’ departure from New England in 2012 — when he didn’t report to training camp — of his motivation for wanting to play. But if Dallas were to sign Waters, I wouldn’t see motivation as an issue.
Waters was born in Waxahachie, not too far from where he would be playing as a Cowboy, and attended North Texas University. A lot of times in sports, we see some athletes who, at the end of their career, want to play at home or as close to it as possible. With personal goals accomplished, some want to end their careers playing at home in front of friends and family. Playing in Dallas would offer that for Waters.
Moore was seen as the best offensive lineman on the market before the Cowboys signed him. Now that he is gone, however, Waters is viewed as the next best guy.
The Cowboys shouldn’t wait to pick him up.
