It’s officially game week (YESSSS) but we’re still in the fallout of 53-man roster finalization across the NFL. As is the case there are still teams making adjustments to theirs. The Green Bay Packers have made one, and it involves the Cowboys. Darius Jackson has made a 53-man roster, unfortunately it was in Green Bay and not Dallas. Darius Jackson is headed to the Green bay packers to the 53 man roster. Cowboys have practice squad spot open — Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 3, 2018 The Packers are in a precarious spot with their running back depth. Aaron Jones is suspended to begin the season, and one of their runners is a former receiver in Ty Montgomery. There’s no denying that Darius helps them. While it’s unfortunate to see Darius leave, especially to a rival, it’s hard not to be happy for him. The Cowboys drafted Jackson in 2016, kept him on their roster up to December, lost him to the Browns in waivers, and he’s undergone a lot since then what with getting injured and trying to revitalize his stock. It seems that Darius made believers out of the NFL once again, and the Packers are quite the team to have impressed. His departure means the Cowboys have an open spot on the practice squad. If they want a running back maybe they could look to Bo Scarbrough. Bo was the only healthy draft pick not to make the team or practice squad. Happy trails, Darius.<doc-sep>Sometimes the best laid plans can unravel. It seemed the Cowboys’ decisions to go light at the RB spot and shuffle a few deck chairs at defensive tackle ended up going a different way than expected. Dallas thought they had a built-in parachute signing Darius Jackson as one of two running backs going to the practice squad after Dallas finalized their final cuts. The team also tried to get creative, waiving Brian Price whom they fully intended to be a part of the defensive line rotation. The gambles did not work as they expected. Darius Jackson is headed to the Green bay packers to the 53 man roster. Cowboys have practice squad spot open — Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 3, 2018 Raiders claimed DT Brian Price on waivers from Cowboys, per source. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 3, 2018 Jackson will become the Packers’ third RB on their roster, joining second-year pro Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery. It seems he will have a job for a few weeks at least, until Aaron Jones comes back from his suspension. In reaction, the Cowboys elected to bring back seventh-round draft pick Bo Scarbrough to team with Chunn for the time being. Bo Scarborough back to the practice squad to replace Darius Jackson. #CowboysNation — Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 3, 2018 The Cowboys had plenty of talent at defensive tackle, but were playing roster games. Price made the initial roster, but the Cowboys made a waiver claim for Ibraheim Campbell, a safety who had been with Houston. They waived Price, thinking they’d be able to turn around and bring him right back after clearing a roster spot. Datone Jones, whom Dallas picked up midseason 2017 was a player they liked, but who had suffered a knee injury against Cincinnati in the preseason. The plan was to stash him on IR after the cutdown to 53 players so they could activate him down the second half of the year. The Cowboys intended to sign Price back after he cleared waivers to the spot vacated by the IR’d Jones. Only, the Raiders intervened, claiming Price and bringing him onto their 53-man roster. The Cowboys knew the risk involved, hopeful things would work in their favor. However they must have seen Price as the bottom player on the roster who they could risk more than anyone else. Now the club is in a bit of a bind. Dallas had traded for Jihad Ward this past draft season, but after being released by the club he signed on to be a part of the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad. Dallas could bring him back if they wanted and he was interested in joining the big club. Dallas kept Antwaun Woods, Daniel Ross and Maliek Collins, along with Tyrone Crawford. Charles Tapper is the only defensive lineman on the practice squad but he’s a defensive end. Crawford was expected to once again pull double-duty at both end and tackle. The Cowboys will consider making another roster move in hopes of tiding them over until star DT David Irving is eligible to retun after his four-game suspension.<doc-sep>Sorry, Dallas Cowboys fans, but the Green Bay Packers have struck again. As both teams worked through the first few days of September trimming their roster from 90 to 53, followed by sifting through waivers and signing street free agents, it appears the two familiar foes had eyes for the same running back. The Cowboys saw fit to waive running back Darius Jackson in their final reduction, hoping he'd still be available 24 hours later for a practice squad signing. He was and so they did, opting to tandem him with Jordan Chunn on the 10-man unit. Before the ink could dry on the deal, however, the Packers came a'poaching. According to Clarence Hill, Jr. of Fort Worth-Star Telegram, Jackson has now been signed to the Green Bay active roster, leaving a new seat available for the Cowboys practice unit. NFL rules state that a player on any team's practice squad can be signed away by another club if it's to the new club's active roster, which is what occurred here. The Cowboys avoided this from happening on tight end Blake Jarwin in 2017, when the Philadelphia Eagles called his phone. That isn't the case for Jackson though, now headed to Lambeau Field for a shot at being impactful in 2018. What now? The Cowboys made the unexpected choice to cut both Jackson and former Alabama star running back Bo Scarbrough, opting to carry only veteran Rod Smith behind former NFL rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott. This kicks the door open for a possible re-signing of Scarbrough, who showed flashes this offseason as the team's sixth-round pick. He also cleared waivers and has yet to sign on anywhere else, so the possibility remains open -- and there's undoubtedly interest on the Cowboys side of the table. For Jackson, it's his third change going into his third NFL season, making him a very young journeyman. Jackson was drafted in the sixth-round that same year out of Eastern Michigan, a high-upside talent that joined a then-crowded running back unit. The Cowboys wanted to make room for veteran Darren McFadden in his return from injury, so Jackson was shown the door -- much to the chagrin of his cult following. He'd land with the Cleveland Browns and spent time on their injured reserve list with a knee injury before being released and finding his way back to square one, with the very team that gave him his first shot at the pro level. Behind Elliott is a very-capable Smith, and it was widely believed the race between Jackson and Scarbrough came down to the wire -- with at least one of them holding enough leverage to land the RB3 role. The veteran has essentially distanced himself in that race in preseason play, Scarbrough getting off to a great start before suffering a hip injury in the Cowboys' second contest versus the Cincinnati Bengals. That allowed an increased snap count on Jackson, who would take full advantage of the opportunity. Already having value as a special teams' piece, Jackson saw his offensive reps jump from 21% to 35% after Scarbrough left early and could not return, delivering 42 yards on only six totes for a top-shelf average of seven yards-per-carry in that game. In the end, they both are being shown the door, but Jackson is the one who got the promotion -- albeit in a roundabout way.<doc-sep>
The Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad has provided the answer for the Green Bay Packers’ need for depth at running back. According to Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Packers signed running back Darius Jackson off the Cowboys’ practice squad on Monday. Darius Jackson is headed to the Green bay packers to the 53 man roster. Cowboys have practice squad spot open — Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 3, 2018 A sixth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2016, Jackson was released Saturday during cutdowns but cleared waivers and signed back to the practice squad Sunday. Jackson will replace waived cornerback Herb Waters on the Packers’ roster. The Packers were in need of a third running back behind Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery to start the season. Aaron Jones is suspended the first two games, and Devante Mays, last year’s seventh-round pick, was released with an injury settlement after dealing with a hamstring injury throughout training camp. The Packers do have running back Joel Bouagnon on the practice squad. In Jackson, the Packers are getting an elite athlete who has never carried the football in a regular season game. Coming out of Eastern Michigan, the 6-0, 220-pound Jackson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds, did 20 reps on the bench press, hit 41″ in the vertical leap and 11-1 in the broad jump and completed the 3-cone drill in 6.87 seconds. Jackson, 24, played in all four preseason games, carrying 21 times for 72 yards and catching 10 passes for 70 yards, including 79 after the catch.