Seahawks quietly sign failed Cowboys draft pick after being cut by Dallas

Jerry and Stephen Jones did their best to make the start of Dallas Cowboys training camp anything about football. The opening press conference featured multiple players catching strays, including Trevon Diggs, whose future with the team beyond 2025 is seemingly in question.

Fortunately, the Cowboys' first of 16 practices open to the media is on Tuesday. While it's expected to be a light practice as players ramp up, Cowboys football is officially back.

One player who won't be out on the practice field is 2024 seventh-round pick Justin Rogers, who got released immediately following mandatory minicamp. The Seahawks announced on Monday that they signed Rogers to their 90-man roster.

Seahawks sign Cowboys' 2024 draft pick Justin Rogers right before training camp

The Cowboys hoped Rogers would help fill out their nose tackle rotation behind Mazi Smith. He appeared in every preseason game last year and tallied five total tackles and two defensive stops, per PFF.

It was not enough for Rogers to make the 53-man roster, which wasn't that surprising. It's not uncommon that seventh-round picks get cut. Sometimes there isn't enough room to keep everyone. What caught fans off guard was that Dallas didn't sign Rogers to the practice squad.

The Bengals swiftly signed Rogers to their practice squad, but he failed to appear in a single game. That prompted the Cowboys sign the Auburn product off Cincinnati's practice squad. NFL rules permit teams to poach players off another club's practice squad, but they must be signed to the active roster.

Read more: Cowboys reporter is already laying the groundwork for Trevon Diggs to be traded

Rogers had the look of a development player worth molding, but he failed to impress two separate coaching staffs. The Cowboys clearly think they've upgraded at the position.

Not only did they use two more seventh-round picks on interior defenders in UCLA's Jay Toia and Maryland's Tommy Akingbesote, but they signed former Browns fourth-round pick Perrion Winfrey as part of the flurry of moves that included waiving Rogers.

It will be interesting to monitor how Rogers fares in Seattle. The Seahawks have a pretty deep interior defensive line that includes old friends Johnathan Hankins and Quinton Bohanna, who both played two seasons with Dallas, as depth options.

Rogers faces an uphill climb to make the 53-man roster, but a strong camp and preseason will give Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald something long and hard to think about.