The Cowboys have signed 27-year old LB Baraka Atkins to a reserve/future contract.  Atkins has now played in the NFL since the 2008 season with the Seahawks.  Atkins has now played in 21 games in his first 2 years in the NFL and he has 29 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 pass defensed.  Atkins will be a longshot to win a job for the Cowboys in 2012 or beyond.

The Dallas Cowboys have placed 31-year old guard Montrae Holland on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to partially torn left biceps.  Holland played in 10 games (all starts) for the Cowboys this year.  He has played in 31 games (14 starts) in his first four years with the Cowboys.  The Cowboys have re-signed 29-year old G/T Daniel Loper to replace Holland on the active roster.  Loper didn’t get in any games earlier this year for the Cowboys.  He has now played in 58 games (9 starts) in his first seven years in the NFL.

UPDATE:  (12/31/2011) – The Cowboys have waived Daniel Loper.

The Cowboys have re-signed 24-year old WR Dwayne Harris.  Harris played in 5 games earlier this year for the Cowboys, before getting waived, and he didn’t catch any passes.  Harris also returned 11 punts for 73 yards (6.6 avg) and 3 kickoffs for 74 yards (24.7 avg) for the Cowboys in his first go around this year.  He will likely get a chance to return kicks and punts right away for the Cowboys as they want WR Dez Bryant and RB Felix Jones to concentrate on offense going forward.  He was a sixth round pick out of East Carolina in last April’s NFL Draft.

The Cowboys have signed 34-year old RB Sammy Morris.  Morris played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Patriots last year and he carried the ball 20 times for 56 yards (2.8 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 77 yards (11.0 avg) for the Patriots last year.  Morris has now played in 141 games (37 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 708 times for 2,955 yards (4.2 ypc) with 26 TD runs.  He has also caught 161 passes for 1,245 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Morris will likely backup Felix Jones the rest of the year for the Cowboys.  He’s a solid pickup for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys have re-signed 31-year old OG Montrae Holland.  Holland played in 14 games (2 starts) for the Cowboys last year.  He has now played in 21 games (4 starts) in his first three years with the Cowboys.  He might just step right into rookie Bill Nagy’s old job at guard this weekend.

The Cowboys have signed 30-year old CB Frank Walker.  Walker played in 11 games for the Vikings last year and he had 22 tackles, 6 passes defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception.  He has now played in 93 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has 156 tackles, 31 passes defensed, 8 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Cowboys will probably have to get Walker right onto the field as they have had a lot of injuries at cornerback.

The Cowboys have signed 26-year old WR Laurent Robinson.  Robinson played in 14 games (11 starts) for the Rams last year and he caught 34 passes for 344 yards (10.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 38 games (20 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 89 passes for 1,000 yards (11.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  This was a good signing for the Cowboys as Robinson will give them a decent #3 or #4 WR in 2011.

UPDATE:  (9/13/2011) – The Cowboys have released Laurent Robinson.  He didn’t get any catches in the season opener for the Cowboys.

UPDATE:  (9/21/2011) – The Cowboys have re-signed Laurent Robinson.

The Cowboys have signed 30-year old OG Derrick Dockery.  Dockery played in 5 games (2 starts) for the Redskins last year.  He has now played in 117 games (111 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL.  Dockery will push for a starting job in Dallas.  Even if the loses out on a starting gig, he will still help the team because of his experience and versatility.

The Cowboys have signed 28-year old kicker Dave Rayner.  Rayner played in 8 games for the Lions last year and he connected on 13 of 16 field goals (81.3%).  He also made all 16 of his extra point attempts as he finished up last year with 55 points.  Rayner played in 51 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he connected on 55 of 75 field goals (73.3%).  He also has made 64 of 65 extra points as he has 229 points so far in his NFL career.  Rayner will get a legit shot to win the starting job with David Buehler out of action due to injury.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Cowboys have released Dave Rayner.

The Cowboys have signed 33-year old kicker Shayne Graham.  Graham played in 9 games for the Patriots & Giants in which he nailed all 12 of his field goal attempts last year.  He also made 39 of 41 extra points to finish up with 75 points last year.  Graham has now played in 136 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has connected on 208 of 242 field goals (86%).  He also has made 315 of 320 extra points as he has scored 939 points so far in his NFL career.  Graham was signed because Cowboys’ starting kicker David Buehler has a problem with his hip.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Cowboys have released Shayne Graham.