The day for a Dallas Cowboys fan started out with some drama that ended up not resulting in anything.
QB Dak Prescott was notably absent from practice. What started the drama was Owner/GM Jerry Jones and VP of Player Personnel Will McClay were also absent. Cue the eyeball emojis all over Twitter/X.
The speculation was that the trio were in the office with Prescott’s agent, Todd France, finally signing the contract that would make Dak the highest paid player in the NFL based on annual average salary.
That speculation was dispelled in a matter of minutes when the Cowboys announced that Prescott was being held out of practice for precautionary reasons after some ankle soreness resulting from yesterday’s practice.
However, there would be some drama later in the afternoon. It turns out that Jerry Jones and Will McClay were absent because they were working the phones with the Minnesota Vikings.
CB Nahshon Wright, a 3rd round pick of the Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft, has been traded to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their own underwhelming cornerback, Andrew Booth.
What Does This Mean for Nahshon Wright?
Wright will get a fresh start with a new coaching staff in Minnesota after seemingly wearing out his welcome in Dallas.
Dan Quinn, the former Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 2021-2023, pounded the table for Wright and the Cowboys obliged. Wright was the 99th overall pick in the 2021 draft, and has all the measurables that Quinn covets.
Unfortunately, those traits never translated to the field. Wright saw limited snaps due to the fact that he never quite developed like Quinn and the defensive staff hoped he would.
In his time in Dallas, Nahshon Wright appeared in 32 games, starting only three of them, and none of those games came in the 2023 season. The third season for players is usually the point where teams get a full grasp on whether the player will succeed.
Wright had more terrible moments in coverage than positive ones, and that is the image that Cowboys fans will stay with for the foreseeable future. He ends his short Cowboys career with just 37 tackles, five passes defensed, and one interception.
What Does This Mean for the Cowboys Defense?
In short, it means the Cowboys are swapping one player with untapped potential for another, hoping a change in scenery can bring back the fire that got Andrew Booth drafted highly in the first place.
It is a move reminiscent of what the Cowboys did last season when they traded the troubled Kelvin Joseph to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Noah Igbinoghene.
Igbinoghene scored the first touchdown of the 2023 season for the Cowboys when he returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown during a rainstorm at the Meadowlands versus the New York Giants.
Dallas is hoping to have similar success with Andrew Booth. Booth was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL Draft, but like Wright, never quite broke into the starting lineup.
Booth started two games in his two seasons in Minnesota, recording 20 tackles, one pass defensed, and zero interceptions. Interestingly enough, Zimmer has no ties to Booth in Minnesota.
By the time the draft came around in 2022, Zimmer had already been relieved of his duties as head coach, and was replaced by current Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell.
Could a change in scenery bring back the confidence of the former Clemson Tiger? Only time will tell. Booth enters a crowded cornerback room with two All-Pro players (Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland), a dependable veteran (Jourdan Lewis), and a surprisingly talented rookie (Caelen Carson).
It will be difficult for Booth to insert himself in that rotation, but the Cowboys are banking on the talent that made him a 2nd round pick to begin with.