Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys have reportedly reached an agreement on a contract with free agent guard Brian Waters, whom the team has been desperately pursuing all offseason. If the 36-year-old actually does play for the Cowboys this year, he could be a huge difference-maker for Dallas.
All y’all, yes, it really happened. Agreed w Brian Watters. My guess is they hope he’s ready wk 2. Bernadeau wk 1.
— Brad Sham (@Boys_Vox) September 3, 2013
Waters is a Waxahachie native and a North Texas alumn, so it’s not like this is a life-changing event for him, even considering he didn’t play the entire 2012 season. In fact, Waters was in this exact same scenario two years ago when he signed with the New England Patriots less than a week before their first game and then played in both the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl at the end of the year. Now considering he’s 36 and it’s been 19 months since he last played in the NFL, Waters can’t be expected to be at Pro Bowl form from day one, but he did say that he’ll only need a week to get ready.
Waters said it would take him a week to get ready
— Jean-Jacques Taylor (@JJT_ESPNDallas) September 3, 2013
Finally, he hasn’t been hesitant to play for Dallas as some rumors have stated, but he knows his worth and he knows how bad the Cowboys need him. There’s at least one member of the Dallas media who knows what the real delay was in getting Waters in a Cowboys uniform.
Delay with Brian Waters has never been about his desire to play for Cowboys. It was about Jerry’s desire to pay him like a starter.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) September 3, 2013
The Cowboys likely won’t play Waters in their Week 1 Sunday night showdown against the New York Giants, and they shouldn’t. Sure, he pulled a Brett Favre in 2011, but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to do it again two years later after sitting out of football for 19 months. Still, Waters being on the roster makes a huge difference in the Cowboys’ offensive line depth, regardless of his physical shape. This is big news for the Cowboys if Waters actually plays because he will play relatively well since Dallas has an offensive line that’s basically patched together with duct tape at this point.
Jeric Griffin is the Director of Content for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JericGriffin, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
