Cowboys deal with Atlanta for safety Roger Harper
By DENNE H. FREEMAN
Associated Press (April 20, 1996)
IRVING - The Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys dumped two
of their draft picks on the Atlanta Falcons for safety Roger
Harper on Friday.
The Cowboys surrendered their fourth-round (127th overall) and
fifth-round (164th) picks for the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Harper,
a 1993 second-round pick from Ohio State. Harper started 34 of
42 games for Atlanta, which recently picked up Patrick Bates
from Oakland.
Harper will be competing for playing time in the Cowboys secondary
with former Falcon Scott Case.
The trade came on the eve of the NFL draft, in which the Cowboys
are not expected to make much of a splash today. They don't have
the money.
The Cowboys are less than $2 million under the salary cap, and
they likely will renegotiate running back Emmitt Smith's contract,
which has only a year to go.
Picking last at 30th, the Cowboys would be moving up to big bucks
country if they tried to trade up in the draft, their common
technique in the Jimmy Johnson era. Johnson is at Miami now,
and Dallas owner Jerry Jones has joked: "Jimmy likes to
trade, and so do we. Who knows, we might make a deal."
Highly unlikely. First-round draft picks cost money, and Dallas
can't go on a spending spree.
The Cowboys could be trading down out of the first round if they
don't think they can find a player who could fit their needs
as a backup or special teamer.
"Our starters are secure on offense and defense," scouting
director Larry Lacewell said. "Anybody who expects us to
draft a starter is just daydreaming."
The Cowboys shored up their desperate linebacking situation by
signing Broderick Thomas and Fred Strickland.
"We won't feel as pressed now to draft a linebacker,"
Lacewell said. "We can get back into that best-athlete-available
deal again. I think we can get a good player. There aren't a
lot linebackers out there anyway this year. We can breathe easier
because of the free agents we signed. "
Eight rookies made the Cowboys team last year out of 10 selected,
but none developed into impact players.
Three players remain with the club from the 1994 draft out of
the seven selected. The best was guard Larry Allen, a second-round
choice and the 10th offensive lineman selected overall.
"We've been criticized for our drafts in the last two years,
but we got a big impact player in Allen and a lot of special
teams help," Lacewell said. "You have to remember where
we've been coming from."
The Cowboys will be taking a look at some of the receiver crop
to see what's available.
Also, Dallas could use depth in the defensive line and at cornerback
where Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown left for the Oakland Raiders
along with tackle Russell Maryland.
All content copyright 1996, Associated
Press, The Abilene Reporter-News and Reporter OnLine
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