The Dallas Cowboys are adding more veteran depth to their secondary by signing former Pro Bowl defensive back Xavier Rhodes to their practice squad.
The signing comes in the wake of Dallas’ late-season defensive struggles, especially in the secondary opposite of Trevon Diggs. The Cowboys have been looking for an answer for that spot for the past several weeks and have yet to find any consistency since Anthony Brown’s injury. Dallas has tried to go internal to fix the issue with last year’s second-rounder Kelvin Joseph and last year’s third-rounder Nahshon Wright but have not found the consistent play from either of them, though Wright has shown promise.
Rhodes comes in as another veteran corner that Dallas has added since Brown’s injury. He is added to a list consisting of Mackensie Alexander, Trayvon Mullen, and Kendall Sheffield. However, Rhodes is clearly the guy with the most experience and overall success in the league coming into his age-32 season. Rhodes has made three Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro in 2017 with the Minnesota Vikings.
Rhodes was drafted with the 25th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Vikings, where he would spend the first seven years of his career, most of which as one of the top corners in the NFL. He then signed with the Indianapolis Colts in 2020, where he would spend the next two years of his career, starting all 29 games he played with them. This year, Rhodes spent some time with the Buffalo Bills playing in just two games and starting one before being waived this week. This year was the first year he did not start every game he has played in since his rookie season. He has accumulated 13 interceptions over the course of his career.
Dallas will likely look to see how he fits into their defense and give him a chance to progressively move up the depth chart as they move deeper into the playoffs.