Implications of Henry Loss, Brooking Addition

When I heard we traded Anthony Henry for Jon Kitna, I knew this would be key in several aspects of the roster. The dominoes are beginning to fall and the draft targets could be clearing up now. This move will set off several chain of events. Here’s what to consider with the Henry trade:

Henry was getting old, so trading him means several things.

– Henry moving to FS is dead, would never have worked due to his brittle nature, coupled with the news we’re trying to move Roy, this clearly now means that safety should be an early target if not the first pick selected.

– This also means, we’re going to see Jenkins and Scandrick battle it out for the now vacated position. At sometime in the season we’ll see both starting opposite each other due to Newman’s equally new found brittle nature as well. Look for us to draft some more corners in this draft as well. I think Scandrick and Jenkins are the future, and adding depth for them should start this draft.

– The trade also locks up a very good backup in Jon Kitna, this was a great trade for us, we really shored up some issues. Drafting Kitna probably means we don’t waste a draft pick on a QB. We’ll probably bring in some undrafted guys for a look see, but that’s probably it.

The Keith Brooking Signing

The signing of Keith Brooking is an interesting addition, but a necessary move. Zach was a good stop gap, but Brookings probably upgrades the spot even more, so the play at ILB continues to improve, from Akin, to Zach, to Brooking now. Phillips coached Brookings in Atlanta, so there’s some familiarity there as well.

Adding Brooking means several things now.

– Carpenter is officially a career backup, he’ll never be a starter in Dallas. Could he be traded away? I would think his agent wants to get him a fresh start somewhere with a chance to start, but we’ll see. He’s been pigeon holed as a backup in Dallas, a former first round pick.

With these two moves, Dallas is probably focusing in on Safety, DE, and ILB. Assuming Dallas gets rid of Roy Williams via trade or release, this puts Safety above the rest.

DE is still in good shape this year with Hatcher and Bowen opposite Spears, but looking ahead the Cowboys could still be looking at DE early since Spears is playing for a new contract this season, as is Hatcher after 2010. So adding a solid defensive end could still be the first pick.

ILB is in better shape with Brooking now, but we lost Burnett, and the jury is still out on the status of Carpenter. Even if Carpenter remains with the team, Brooking is a 2yr stop gap(signed 3yrs), and we’ll need a long term replacement. We need longterm stability there, not more of the same. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Brooking signing, but eventually we need a younger longterm guy there.

Also keep in mind that despite all these moves, the draft could go down with a crazy pick, crazy in which we as fans didn’t see that coming. For example, don’t be surprised if we end up drafting an OG or OT early. Especially the Guard position. The Cowboys have had the same backups for several seasons now, and I don’t think they see any of them as players to replace anyone. Key point was the Colombo re-signing. Signing Colombo to a longterm deal meant none of these other guys are capable. This is the same issue at LG. Kosier is the weak link and coming off a nagging injury, and with him out Procter was not the answer, and at one point they had McQuistan in there and it was a disaster. We don’t have any fillers or capable backups.

Check back for more as the signings continue, Stop by the Boards for the latest.