Cowboys Corner

Jerrod Johnson might have to go undrafted free agent route

Aggies quarterback Jerrod Johnson holds several team records, but it might not be enough to get him drafted. Johnson lost his starting job at mid-season. He has struggled with his accuracy and his arm strength since off-season shoulder surgery a year ago.

Johnson said Wednesday at A&M's Pro Day that his right (throwing) shoulder is about 95 percent healed. He did look more comfortable Wednesday than he did at the NFL Scouting Combine 10 days ago despite having to throw to Prairie View A&M receivers instead of his own. (Rules prohibit underclassmen returning to school from working out, so none of A&M's receivers were available.)

Johnson went through a script of 54 plays, with one high throw and one dropped pass.

"There were a couple of balls I wish I could have had back, but overall it went pretty good, so I'm happy with it," Johnson said.

Zeke Bratkowski, a former NFL quarterback who worked with Tim Tebow before last year’s draft, has been working with Johnson in Nashville. Bratkowski ran the throwing session.

Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp was among those who watched Johnson with interest.

"I thought he was fine," Knapp said. "You've to take into consideration the rules that are set here for the quarterbacks. They can't work out with their guys that they've worked with for four or five years in college. We understand that he had a couple of guys from Prairie View that he's just been throwing to recently, for a couple of days. Sometimes the route is not the same timing as the footwork of the quarterback's drops. So I thought he was fine with his accuracy. Incredible workhorse. I mean, he really did a lot of reps for a work out and didn't slow down. He wanted to do another one. You could just tell by his demeanor. It's nice to see he's a hard worker, no doubt about it."

Johnson, who could have been a second- or third-round choice if he had come out after his junior season, doesn't care if he's drafted. All he wants is a chance. Houston seems like a likely landing spot, with former A&M quarterback Gary Kubiak as the head coach and backup quarterback Matt Leinart on his way out as a free agent. 

“I just want to get an opportunity,” Johnson said. “I feel that I definitely can play this game, and I think I can play the game well. I think my shoulder is about healed. I’m just ready to go, ready to get back on a team. I just want somebody to give me an opportunity, and I’ll make the most of it.”

-- Charean Williams

Von Miller would love to be a Cowboy, but it isn't likely

He isn't likely to be there when the Cowboys draft ninth overall, and the Cowboys have bigger needs than outside linebacker anyway. So Von Miller's dream to return home to play for the Cowboys isn't likely.

The Texas A&M linebacker could go as high as second to the Denver Broncos. The Arizona Cardinals, at No. 5, also would seem to have interest since Joey Porter and Clark Haggans, who combined for 10 sacks last season, both will be 34 years old at the start of the season.

Miller should be the Aggies’ highest-drafted player since linebacker Quentin Coryatt went second overall to the Indianapolis Colts in 1992.

Aggies coach Mike Sherman hopes Miller is the first of many first-round picks for the program in the next few years.

"If you said to me two years ago we'd get to this point with Von Miller, I don't know if I could said that he would be this high of a pick," Sherman said. "...I just think we have guys in the program that have aspirations and talent enough to be able to get into an elite status."

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Feb. 28, Miller ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash, had a 37-inch vertical jump, broad jumped 10 feet, 6 inches and had 21 reps in the 225-pound bench press. One scout compared Miller to Derrick Thomas after that workout.

On Wednesday, after Miller weighed 243 pounds and was hand-timed in 4.49 or 4.50 by scouts in the 40-yard dash, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said Miller reminds him of Arizona Cardinals linebacker Joey Porter.

“He’s about the same size [as Porter]; he’s got that rush ability; he seems like a pretty outgoing kid,” said Zimmer, whose team holds the fourth choice. “He’s still got some work to do on his drops and coverage and things like that, but he’s intelligent enough and a good enough athlete to do it. I think he’ll have a good career.”

-- Charean Williams

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Coveted LT Doug Free gets highest tender; WR Sam Hurd done in Dallas

The Cowboys didn't put place the franchise tag on left tackle Doug Free.

But the four-year veteran  is clearly important to them, which is why he got the highest restricted free-agent tender on Tuesday _ a one-year contract worth roughly $3.4 million with first-and-third round draft pick compensation.

Free was one of four players tendered restricted free agent contracts by the Cowboys in their attempt to cover themselves before a possible lockout, looming on Thursday.

Defensive ends Stephen Bowen and Jason Hatcher received second-round tenders ($1.9 million) and safety Alan Ball received an original seventh round tender ($1.2 million)

The tenders, for example, mean if another team were to sign Free as a restricted free agent, it would have to compensate the Cowboys with first- and third-round draft picks.

At 27, Free still could still be targeted by other teams if and when a labor deal is agreed. He was the team's best offensive lineman last year, his first as a starting left tackle, and the Cowboys would like to eventually sign him to a long-term contract extension.

It's a chance the Cowboys took when they didn't place the franchise tag on him, which would have guaranteed him a $10 million salary for next season.

Of course this is all assuming the players will still be restricted free agents under a new collective bargaining agreement.

There is a chance players with four accrued seasons could be granted unrestricted free agency.

The Cowboys made the offers in case the current rules remain in place.

Also of note is that wide receiver Sam Hurd and linebacker Leon Williams were not offered restricted free agent tenders, making them unrestricted free agents immediately.

Hurd, a special teams ace,  is now likely done in Dallas. The Cowboys might try to re-sign him but we wants something they really can't offer: a chance to be an every-down receiver.

If another promises to give him a chance to play receiver in the regular offense, Hurd will probably not look back.

Clarence E. Hill Jr.