IRVING, Texas -- With two games to go and a 4-10 record, it is too easy to wonder if the Dallas Cowboys will win five games this year, right?
OK, we’ll still come up with five wonders anyhow.
Away we go:
I wonder how the Cowboys’ lack of success will affect their Pro Bowl chances. The squad will be announced tonight. At 4-10, it’s hard to see a lot of players getting picked. Left tackle Tyron Smith has been picked the last two years and I can see him getting in again even if he has not been as good in 2015 as he was in 2014. This might be Travis Frederick’s best season, so I can see the center making it. It’s hard to pick guards and Zack Martin has a chance. Jason Witten has 70 catches, but he has not found the end zone since the season opener. His reputation among players could earn him a spot, too. I can’t see a defensive player making it. Kicker Dan Bailey is deserving and he made a big 54-yarder to beat the Washington Redskins with everybody watching before the players, coaches and general managers voted, so that will help.
I wonder if the torn Achilles tendon suffered by Gavin Escobar on the final drive against the New York Jets could mean James Hanna is back with the team in 2016. Hanna is scheduled to be a free agent and I was already wondering what kind of market he would have. Remember, John Phillips pulled down a pretty good deal from the San Diego Chargers as Witten’s backup a few years ago. Hanna is solid backup tight end. He’s a better blocker than many think. He’s made some plays in the passing game this year. Escobar is looking at a long rehab from the Achilles injury and might be a candidate to open next year on the physically unable to perform list. The Cowboys like Geoff Swaim, their seventh-rounder this year, and he will get a chance to play in the final two games now.
I wonder what the Cowboys will do with Lance Dunbar. Losing the running back in Week 4 was a bigger injury than many thought because he has big-play ability. Dunbar is in the early part of rehab from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and could be ready for training camp. But with what team? He is set to become a free agent in March. Do the Cowboys sign him to a one-year deal to see if he can make it back? Do they cut ties altogether? This finally looked like the year they were going to get Dunbar involved and then he got hurt. Mini-wonder inside of a wonder: I wonder if Dunbar regrets not talking contract with the Cowboys during training camp.
I wonder how bad Jeff Heath’s shoulder really is. He’s not missed a game, but he’s not had a defensive snap in two of the last three games and had just two against Green Bay. I can already hear some of you mocking this, but Heath is not as bad as many believe. He knows where to go. He can tackle. He won’t make mental mistakes. The problem many have with him is that he had to play too much as a rookie in 2013 and all you can remember is the Adrian Peterson touchdown. Given the way J.J. Wilcox has struggled this year, I’d rather see Heath on defense, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we hear he has surgery once the season ends.
I wonder if the Cowboys poach another player from a practice squad with two games to go. They were able to get David Irving from the Kansas City Chiefs. They added Trey Williams off Washington’s practice squad, but he was never active before he was released. The Cowboys should have two roster openings available (Tony Romo, Escobar). It might be difficult to get a player to come to a non-playoff team with two games to play, but the promise of an opportunity in 2016 could be a selling point. I do wonder if the Cowboys should look to call up quarterback Jameill Showers from their own practice squad.
