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The Cowboys said farewell to All-Pro right guard Zack Martin when he retired this offseason and they hope they landed another long-term standout at the position in the first round of the draft.

Dallas used the 12th overall pick on Tyler Booker this year and he’s already occupying Martin’s former spot at the top of the depth chart. Booker played left guard at Alabama the last two seasons, so he has had to make some adjustments in his first months as an NFL player.

Booker said this week that those adjustments have been made easier by the fact that he spent his freshman year with the Crimson Tide playing both guard spots.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Booker said, via Garrett Podell of CBSSports.com. “You have to think a little bit more, but at the same time, it’s technique that you’re a lot more cognizant of what you’re doing with your body. It’s not too hard because my freshman year at Bama, I would get two drives at left guard and two drives at right guard. Shout out to [former Alabama head coach Nick] Saban and [offensive line coach Eric] Wolford for getting me ready for the NFL.”

Booker joins an offensive line that the Cowboys have restocked in the last few years. If all goes according to plan, he will join 2022 first-rounder Tyler Smithand 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton as foundation pieces for years to come.


The headline? Long-time sports executive Tim Leiweke (older brother of former NFL COO Tod Leiweke) has been indicted on federal bid-rigging charges.

Something far more interesting, and potentially far more relevant to the NFL, lurks beneath the top-line news.

Tim Leiweke served, until Wednesday, as the CEO of Oak View Group. He resigned due to a problem arising from the construction of the Moody Center at the University of Texas.

OVG led the financing and oversaw the development of the arena. Along the way, OVG and Legends Hospitality — founded by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the New York Yankees — allegedly committed antitrust violations by (wait for it) colluding. (Sixth Street Partners purchased a controlling interest in Legends four years ago; Jones still owns a piece of the company.)

Leiweke allegedly entered into an agreement with Legends to drop its bid to oversee the construction of the arena in exchange for “lucrative subcontracts.” Leweike then allegedly reneged on the subcontracts.

CNBC reports that Legends is expected to pay a $1.5 million penalty for its involvement in the alleged scheme. OVG is expected to pay $15 million. And Leiweke will face an eventual trial, barring a dismissal of the charges or a deal of his own.

Leiweke, in a statement issued to Sports Business Journal, says he did nothing wrong. He calls the arrangement with Legends a “vertical, complementary business partnership” that fully complies with the law.

The development comes at a time when the NFL Players Association has secured an arbitration finding that the NFL’s Management Council, with the blessing of Commissioner Roger Goodell, urged teams to collude regarding guaranteed contracts for NFL players. As a source familiar with the NFLPA’s operations told PFT after it became clear that the NFLPA had hidden the ruling for months, “a properly functioning union would alert the [Department of Justice’s] antitrust division” about the behavior — with the obvious goal of getting the DOJ to investigate whether and to what extent the NFL has engaged (and/or is engaging) in other antitrust violations.

Now that it’s come to light that the league tried to collude as to player guarantees, maybe an ambitious AUSA will take a closer look at whether supposedly competing businesses have been doing a little colluding (or a lot) in violation of the federal antitrust laws. The fact that the DOJ is currently run by a president who has vowed regarding NFL owners to “get them all back” won’t make that possibility any less likely.


49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was an afterthought when he was drafted with the final pick in 2022. It took injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo before he saw the field, and after that, Lance and Garoppolo became expendable.

Lance, the third overall pick in 2021, lasted through training camp in 2023 before the Cowboys unwisely sent a fourth-round pick to the 49ers for him.

“It’s tough, because Trey and I are tight, dude,” Purdy said during a recent appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “Absolutely, we’re boys, and we’re bros.”

Purdy is firmly entrenched as the 49ers’ franchise quarterback, having signed a five-year, $265 million extension with the team. Lance already is on his third team, having left the Cowboys to sign a one-year, $2 million deal with the Chargers to back up Justin Herbert.

Lance’s career has not gone how anyone expected.

“I wanted nothing but the best for him, and I know he wanted that for me,” Purdy said. “But that’s just how this business goes and all that. When it did happen, we’re about to play our preseason game against the Chargers, and right before the game, they announced [the trade of Lance to the Cowboys], and I didn’t really know how to act or what to think. I was just like, ‘Man, I hope he can go to Dallas and compete and have a great opportunity.’”

Purdy said he and Lance have never discussed exactly how everything went down, but nothing has changed about Purdy’s feelings about Lance.

“We’ve just texted each other, like, ‘Hey, dude, hope you’re doing good,’ like, randomly throughout the season, offseason, or whatever. ‘Hope you’re doing good,’ this and that. It’s really just been that,” Purdy said. “We haven’t really gotten to the details of, ‘Hey, how do you feel with this happening?’ or whatever. We just stay away from that.”


The Cardinals have found a new way to make money off their fans traveling to road games.

The team today unveiled a new program called Cardinals Premier Travel, in which the team will provide a private flight, two nights in a hotel, a team-sponsored tailgate and welcome reception, and other amenities. Packages will start at $2,500 per person.

“In recent years, the number of Cardinals fans who travel to support the team at road games has increased exponentially,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement. “To meet that clear demand, we are introducing Cardinals Premier Travel, which will offer fans an unprecedented opportunity to travel to games in comfort, style and convenience, just like the team.”

The program will start with the Cardinals’ Monday night game on November 3 at Dallas.

“Feedback from fans was clear that this was the No. 1 choice among the road games in 2025 and the expectation is to grow from this starting point,” Bidwill said.

Given how many rabid NFL fans travel to see their favorite teams on the road, it’s surprising that programs like this aren’t more commonplace. Teams know their fans are spending money on the road, and the logical next step for the NFL is for teams to get a share of that money.


Later this month, for the 19th time, the Cowboys will hold training camp in Oxnard, California. They will have the next five camps there as well.

The Cowboys and the city of Oxnard agreed to a five-year contract extension to keep training camp in the city through 2030, Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The previous three-year agreement expired after this summer’s camp.

The city of Oxnard unanimously approved the agreement, per Hoyt, with the Cowboys paying the city $75,000 each year. The Cowboys and Oxnard will split varying responsibilities.

The Cowboys have trained in Southern California for 46 of their 66 training camps, including this year.

They report to Oxnard for their 2025 training camp on July 20 and will hold 16 open practices before departing Aug. 14.


Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is back to full strength after last season’s hamstring injury and that means he can turn his focus from rehabilitation to the upcoming season.

It will be his first season playing with wide receiver George Pickens, who joined the team in a trade with the Steelers this offseason. Pickens joins CeeDee Lamb as the top targets in the passing game and Prescott said on Tuesday that he finds it “exciting as hell” to be the player throwing that pair the football.

Prescott said that Pickens has shown knowledge and involvement that “delegates a lot of the things you heard in the past” about his demeanor and that his ability as a receiver makes it easy to get him the ball.

“Go turn on that guy’s tape,” Prescott said, via the team’s website. “He’s getting separation. He’s got separation even when he’s not getting the ball at times, and when he doesn’t have separation, he’s still making the catches. It’s not going to be hard. For me, it’s about getting the ball near that guy and he will be George Pickens. Go turn on the tape — he’s great at doing it.”

Prescott’s injury helped the Cowboys tumble to 21st in points scored last season, but they led the league in scoring in two of the previous three years and Prescott seems to like the team’s chances of the new receiving tandem returning them to that level.


While it’s not much of a surprise, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott delivered some positive news on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at his youth football camp in Southlake, Texas, Prescott said that he’s expecting to be fully cleared for the start of training camp later this month.

I’m healthy as I’ll be,” Prescott said, via video from Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News. “I’ll be full go for camp. I’m healthy, yeah. I think soon here I’ll probably get an official sign off from doc. But I’m healthy.”

Prescott, who turns 31 at the end of the month, tore his hamstring off the bone in Dallas’ Week 9 matchup with Atlanta last season and missed the rest of the season. But he was able to participate in much of the Cowboys’ offseason program under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, telling reporters in May that he’d been cleared for everything but contact.

In his eight games last year, Prescott completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 1,978 yards with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Cowboys will begin training camp in Oxnard, Calif., on July 22.


Former Cowboys tight end Pettis Norman has died, the team announced Monday. Norman was 86.

“We mourn the passing of former tight end and civil rights advocate Pettis Norman,” the team wrote in a statement. “Known for his selfless leadership, commitment to community, and dedication to creating equal opportunity, we were incredibly proud and grateful to share his remarkable story recently.”

The Dallas Texans selected Norman in the 16th round of the 1962 AFL Draft, but he never played for the Texans. Norman signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent.

He played for the Cowboys from 1962-70, catching 124 passes for 1,672 yards and 14 touchdowns. He joined the San Diego Chargers in 1971 and caught 59 passes for 820 yards and one touchdown in three seasons.

After his football career, Pettis worked in real estate, apartments, restaurant franchising and single-family housing. He created five companies under the umbrella of PNI Industries.

"[Norman] passed away peacefully in his sleep . . . surrounded by his loving wife, daughters, grandson, and great grandchildren,” the family’s statement reads. “A strong advocate for civil rights and dedicated to creating opportunities for all, Mr. Norman was a respected business executive and civic leader, known widely for his accomplishments both on and off the field. He leaves behind a legacy of selfless leadership, advocacy on behalf of underserved people, and a deep commitment to his community.”


Tyron Smith never played on the same Cowboys team as Tyler Guyton, but he may have a hand in making his successor at left tackle a successful fixture up front in Dallas.

Guyton joined the Cowboys as a first-round pick in 2024 while Smith moved on to the Jets for his final NFL season. Guyton had his ups and downs as a rookie and he’s spent the offseason working to smooth out the rough edges in his game.

Part of that work has come with Smith, who believes that Cowboys fans are going to see a better version of Guyton when he takes the field this fall.

“He wants to put in the work,” Smith said, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “He just needs a little technique work which he’s doing right now. I feel like it’s going to be a different type of year for him to slow the game down and get the rookie nerves out. I think he’s building more confidence in his technique because he’s learning a lot more now. Being a first rounder the way he is, he already has the expectations. But you can’t lean in too much on that, you have to have it for yourself. You have to want to be the best in this league, and that has to be your mentality. As an offensive lineman, we have to have the mentality of playing in this league as long as possible.”

Smith was an All-Pro and perennial Pro Bowler during his time with the Cowboys and it might be a bit much to ask Guyton to produce at the same level. A step up from last year would be a welcome development and good starting point for future improvement for an important piece of the puzzle in Dallas.


During the slow time, NFL coaches dread that phone call.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has gotten one.

Via CBS News Texas, Cowboys receiver KaVontae Turpin was arrested during Fourth of July weekend on a pair of misdemeanor charges.

It happened on Sunday morning, in Allen, Texas. Turpin was booked for possession of marijuana and unlawful carrying of a weapon. His bond was set at $500.

Both charges will trigger potential scrutiny under NFL policies. Marijuana doesn’t result in the same punishment that it once did. However, he’ll likely be subjected to enhanced testing and potential fines for positive tests. Suspensions are very rare, and very hard to earn, under the current substance-abuse policy.

Turpin had his biggest in 2024, with 420 (coincidence, not irony) receiving yards. He also was the first-team All-Pro kick returner, with 904 yards, a 33.5-yard average per return, and a 99-yard touchdown. He also had 18 punt returns for 187 yards and a touchdown.