With the NFL playoffs set to begin this weekend, the NFC’s top-seeded Dallas Cowboys decided to bolster their offensive line on Wednesday by signing former UNC standout Jonathan Cooper.
The 26-year-old is expected to join the Cowboys’ active roster on a contract that will last exclusively through the duration of the team’s playoff run.
Since the Arizona Cardinals selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Cooper’s career has been an up-and-down affair.
A broken fibula cost him his entire first year in the league, while he spent much of the next season as a backup for an Arizona team among the NFL’s best.
Cooper cracked the first-string much more often in 2015, starting nine games at right guard as the Cardinals made it to the NFC Championship Game before ultimately falling to the Carolina Panthers.
In the offseason, however, Arizona packaged him with a second-round pick in a deal with the New England Patriots in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones.
The Patriots released Cooper in October after he failed to win a starting job–which led him to sign with the Cleveland Browns soon after.
He played five games in Cleveland–starting three of them–before being waived on Dec. 27.
What Dallas will provide the former All-American is a chance to join what is already considered the best offensive line in the NFL.
Although Cooper won’t be in a starting role, it may be the best opportunity at a Super Bowl title he’s had to this point in his career.
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