Injuries are a part of the game. Unfortunately, they happen every season to every team. Some are minor, and others are serious. Some are to star players and others are to depth players.
The Dallas Cowboys have had their fair share of injuries over the years, and some of those injuries have derailed the entire season.
Think back to QB Tony Romo breaking his collarbone in 2015. Dallas cycled through a handful of quarterbacks that season, only to finish 4-12 for the year and landing a top-five draft pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Other injuries reveal hidden talent from backups.
Think of CB Trevon Diggs tearing his ACL at the beginning of the 2023 season. We might never have known what DaRon Bland could do without the opportunity to play on the boundary in place of Diggs.
This season is no different. This time the victim is third-year DE Sam Williams. The Ole Miss product tore both his ACL and MCL during team drills this past Sunday afternoon.
The Cowboys, perhaps not content with the talent already on the roster, brought in a few names at defensive end for a workout on Thursday. As reported by Nick Eatman of dallascowboys.com, those four names were Carl Lawson, Shaka Toney, Justin Hollins, and Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Much to the surprise of Cowboys Nation, Dallas made a quick decision to sign two of the players they brought in for workouts.
Toney and Muhammad have been signed to the training camp roster, and will come in and compete to be part of the defensive line rotation.
They are not the players the fans wanted. There were bigger names out there, like Yannick Ngakoue and Tyus Bowser.
However, they are bargain bin signings. Just how Stephen Jones likes them.
DE Shaka Toney’s Family Reunion
Cue Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town.” DE Shaka Toney will arrive at the Cowboys’ locker room with a familiar face to greet him.
Toney, a 7th round pick of the Washington Commanders in 2021, hails from Penn State University where he was a college teammate of current Cowboys’ star DE Micah Parsons.
The two will surely be happy to be reunited as teammates on defense once again, and this time, Parsons will have his hand in the dirt, as well.
Toney played his first, and only, two seasons with the Washington Commanders, appearing in 26 games. He played primarily special teams, and actually contributed more snaps on defense as a rookie than he did in his second season.
Analysts consider Toney an athletic freak who has the potential to be a good rotational pass rusher if a coach can help him hone his traits.
Good thing the Cowboys have former 1st round pick Greg Ellis as part of the coaching staff this season.
Shaka Toney did not play in the 2023 season. He was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for betting on games during the 2022 season. He is now reinstated, and is getting a second chance with the Dallas Cowboys.
Al-Quadin Muhammad
The second of the Cowboys’ Thursday signings is DE Al-Quadin Muhammad.
Muhammad is more experienced than Toney. He has played for three teams (New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Chicago) in six seasons.
Originally a 6th round pick of the New Orleans Saints in the 2017 NFL Draft, Muhammad was strictly a special teams player and rotational piece on the defensive line until his final season with the Indianapolis Colts.
He started 17 games in his final season in Indianapolis, recording 48 tackles, 6.0 sacks, and 13 quarterback hits.
The Colts did not offer him a second contract, and he joined the Chicago Bears in free agency for the 2022 season.
Muhammad started nine games with Chicago before hitting free agency once again. The Colts signed him to a one-year contract, but he was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s policy on Performance Enhancing Drugs, leading to his eventual release.