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.

The Cowboys have signed 29-year old safety Abram Elam to a 1-year, $2.5 million dollar contract.  Elam played in all 16 games for the Browns last year and he had 79 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 10 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Elam has now played in 76 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 305 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 17 passes defensed and 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Elam has come a long way since his rookie year (2006)  with the Cowboys (his only year with the team) in which he played in 15 games and had 13 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  Elam will team with Gerald Sensabaugh to start at safety for the Cowboys in 2011.

The Dallas Cowboys have signed 32-year old DE Kenyon Coleman.  Coleman played in 16 games for the Browns last year and he had 68 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries.  Coleman has now played in  118 games in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has 311 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 12.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries and 5 passes defensed.  Coleman is the first player from the Browns to rejoin defensive co-ordinator Rob Ryan in Dallas but he probably won’t be the last.  He is a solid run defender but he’s not much of a pass rusher.

The Cowboys have signed 23-year old linebacker Isaiah Greenhouse.  He played in 1 game without making a tackle as an undrafted rookie for the Texans last season.  He will likely have to earn his way onto the Cowboys’ roster by playing on special teams.

The Cowboys have signed 34-year old kicker Kris Brown.  Brown played in 3 games for the Chargers earlier this season and he was 4 of 5 on field goals and 8 of 8 on extra points good for 20 points.  He has now played in 179 games in his NFL career and he is 256 of 331 (77.3%) on field goals and he has connected on 355 of 362 extra points good for 1,123 points.  This will put a lot of pressure on 23-year old kicker David Buehler who is going to start against the Eagles this weekend.  Buehler has made 24 of 31 (77.4%) field goals so far this year and he has also made 40 of 42 extra points good for 112 points.  Buehler is on the hot seat now.

The Cowboys have signed 27-year old DE/DT Jeremy Clark.  Clark’s only NFL action came in 2008 with the Cardinals when he played in 4 games and made 4 tackles.  Clark will give the Cowboys’ depth on the D-Line but expectations shouldn’t be too high with them.

The Cowboys have signed 25-year old TE Martin Rucker.  Rucker came out of college with the reputation of being a big time receiver but he has not showed that in  the NFL as of yet.  He played in 5 games (1 start) in 2008 for the Browns and he caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  It was a smart move to take a flier on a guy like Rucker who is likely much better than he has shown so far in his NFL career.

The Cowboys have signed 27-year old kicker Shaun Suisham to replace Nick Folk.  Suisham played 2 years for the Cowboys when his career was just starting and he played in 6 games in which he was 4 for 6 on field goals (66.7%) and 10 for 10 on extra points good for 22 points.  Suisham played in 12 games for the Redskins this season before getting cut by them and he connected on 18 of 21 field goals (85.7%) and 20 of 21 extra points good for 74 points.  He has now played in 55 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 85 of 107 field goals (79.4%) and 96 of 98 extra points good for 351 points.  I like this move for the Cowboys especially with him kicking against his old team this week.

The Cowboys have signed 32-year old special teams ace Allen Rossum.  Rossum will likely replace Patrick Crayton on punt returns.  Crayton has returned 10 punts for 80 yards (8.0 avg) for the Cowboys this season.  Rossum played in 3 games for the 49ers this season and he made 2 tackles.  He also returned 12 punts for 84 yards (7.0 avg) and 7 kickoffs for 152 yards (21.7 avg) for the Niners.  Rossum has now played in 156 games in his NFL career and he has made 136 tackles, defensed 14 passes, has 2 sacks and 2 interceptions.  He has also returned 307 punts for 3,056 yards (10.0 avg) with 3 TD returns and 513 kickoffs for 11,931 yards (23.3 avg) with 5 TD returns.  The Cowboys have released CB Cletis Gordon who was only a Cowboy for 1 week and he didn’t do anything.