Dallas Cowboys add to wide receiver group with Allen Hurns
Left out of the higher end of the wide receiver market, the Dallas Cowboys have signed Allen Hurns.
Upon being cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars this week, Allen Hurns apparently had interest from 10 teams. A snow storm delayed his visit to the New York Jets, and put the Dallas Cowboys first on Hurns’ agenda. According to Josina Anderson of ESPN, Hurns said will sign with the Cowboys.
Injuries have limited Hurns to 21 games, and 74 catches for 961 yards, over the last two seasons. But he had 64 receptions for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2015, as he and Allen Robinson each had a breakout season catching passes from Blake Bortles.
The Cowboys pursued Sammy Watkins before he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, and what exactly they’ll do with Dez Bryant and his $16.5 million cap hit for this year remains a question. They added Deonte Thompson to the wide receiver depth chart earlier this week, but he’s purely a depth piece with no real shot at a big role.
Terrance Williams has been a consistent disappointment (53 receptions for 568 yards and zero touchdowns in 2017), and the shine is off Cole Beasley as a Wes Welker clone after a disappointing 2017 season of his own (36 catches in 15 games). Brice Butler and his 21.1 yards per catch last season remains available, with no sign he’ll be back with the Cowboys.
WR Allen Hurns just told me, “I’m going to sign with Dallas.” #Cowboys
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 23, 2018
The terms of Hurns’ deal with the Cowboys are out.
Per source, the contract for Cowboys WR Allen Hurns is worth $12M over two years.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 23, 2018
Based purely on potential opportunity, Dallas is one of the better landing spots out there for Hurns. He may legitimately push Williams for the starting spot opposite Bryant, or he could usurp Beasley as the Cowboys’ slot receiver after leading Jaguars’ receivers in routes run from the slot last season.
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With Terrelle Pryor on his way to the Jets, the Cowboys did the next best thing by moving quickly to sign Hurns in the midst of a competitive market for his services. That said, a wide receiver has to be on Dallas’ radar with an early pick in April’s draft.