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Cowboys potential Cooper Beebe replacement Wesley French.
The Cowboys came out of Week 2 with a fun, if exhausting, overtime win at home against the Giants, 40-37, in overtime, but also came out with some injury concerns–none so big as the ankle injury suffered by second-year center Cooper Beebe, who figures to be out for 6-to-8 weeks.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones said this week that the hope is the Beebe will be on the “shorter end” of that timeline, which means he could be back before the end of October.
Cowboys backup Brock Hoffman will step into the void and replace Beebe, as he did in Week 2. Hoffman has been with the Cowboys since 2022, and started seven games last year.
But the Cowboys need depth along the line now, and tried to address that on Tuesday by signing veteran offensive lineman Wesley French and moving him to the practice squad.
ESPN’s Todd Archer noted on Twitter/X: ‘The Cowboys are adding C Wesley French to the practice squad after a workout Tuesday. He spent time with OC Klayton Adams in Indy. Needed depth with Cooper Beebe injury.”
Cowboys Offensive Line Is Young & Struggling
Adams was the line coach with the Colts, where French was for the past three seasons after joining the team as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan. He was cut by the Colts late last month ahead of the 53-man roster deadline.
French played 17 games and made three starts for Indianapolis in 2023, playing 24% of the team’s offensive snaps that year.
While the Cowboys have been hoping to get as much playing time for their young offensive linemen–Beebe and tackle Tyler Guyton are second-year players and guard Tyler Booker is a rookie–that experiment has been shaky, at best.
Beebe rates only a grade of 53.9 at Pro Football Focus, 30th out of 33 centers in the NFL, while Guyton is at 36.5 (65th out of 68) and Booker is at 53.0 (49 out of 69 guards).
Brock Hoffman an Able Backup
Perhaps getting Hoffman back in the mix might do well to add some veteran experience to the line.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer expressed confidence in Hoffman in the wake of Beebe’s injury, especially in his vocal leadership.
“At practice, he does it. On gameday, from the sideline, he does it. So when he’s out there, it’s just maybe more noticeable for everybody else,” Schottenheimer said. “But the intensity the guy plays with, the trash that he talks is kind of fun and cool. He gets underneath the defenders, gets in their heads a little bit, but yeah, his play style, it’s he’s wired the right way, man. And our guys love him but he’s definitely one of the leaders in that room.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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