The Cowboys have signed 30-year old OG Nate Livings to a 5-year, $19 million dollar deal.  Livings played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bengals last year.  He has now played in 52 games (47 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  Livings will replace Kyle Kosier as the Cowboys’ new starting right guard in 2012 and it should be a nice upgrade.

The Cowboys have signed 26-year old inside linebacker Dan Connor.  Connor played in 15 games for the Panthers last year and he had 75 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 42 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 156 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  Connor is not a big time playmaker, but he’s pretty dependable inside against the run.

The Cowboys have signed 27-year old safety Brodney Pool.  Pool played in 14 games for the Jets last year and he had 36 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 interception, 1/2 a sack and 1 fumble recovery.  He has now played in 100 games in his first seven years in the NFL and he has 365 tackles, 49 passes defensed, 13 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 5.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 12 tackles for a loss.  This was a good move for the Cowboys as they need safety help and Pool should give them exactly that.

The Cowboys have signed 28-year old fullback Lawrence Vickers.  Vickers played in 14 games for the Texans last year and he had 1 carry for 0 yards.  He also caught 4 passes for 29 yards (7.3 avg) last year.  He has now played in 90 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 34 times for 87 yards (2.6 ypc).  He has also caught 45 passes for 300 yards (6.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far in his career.  The name of the game is blocking for Vickers and his addition should held the Cowboys’ running game in 2012.

The Cowboys have signed 25-year old CB Brandon Carr to a 5-year, $50.1 million dollar deal.  Carr played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 45 tackles, 4 interceptions and 15 passes defensed.  Carr has now played in 64 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 237 tackles, 8 interceptions, 65 passes defensed, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 4 fumble recoveries.  Carr is an outstanding corner, as when the ball is in the air, he thinks it belongs to him.  This was an outstanding signing for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys have signed 29-year old QB Kyle Orton to a 3-year deal.  Orton played in 9 games (8 starts) last year for the Chiefs & Broncos in which he completed 150 of 252 passes (59.5%) for 1,758 yards with 9 TD passes and 9 INTs (77.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 11 times for 13 yards (1.2 ypc) last year.  Orton has now played in 71 games (69 starts) in which he has completed 1,284 of 2,204 passes (58.3%) for 14,532 yards with 80 TD passes and 57 INTs (79.4 QB Rating).  Orton also carried the ball 110 times for 274 yards (2.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  Orton is 35-34 (50.7%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  Orton will be the #2 QB behind Tony Romo.  This was a great move for the Cowboys.

The Cowboys have released 25-year old kicker David Buehler.  He played in 4 games last season due to hip surgery and he didn’t try any field goals or extra points.  Buehler played in 36 games in his three years for the Cowboys and he connected on 24 of 32 (75%) field goals and 42 of 44 extra points, good for 114 total points.  Buehler has lost his job to Dan Bailey.

The Cowboys have released 33-year old CB Terence Newman.  Newman played in 14 games for the Cowboys last year and he had 53 tackles, 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 8 passes defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 1 tackle for a loss.  Newman played in 133 games in his nine years with the Cowboys and he had 542 tackles, 32 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 124 passes defensed, 18 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries.  This was a move made for money reasons, because Newman is still a decent corner.

The Dallas Cowboys used their franchise tag on 28-year old OLB Anthony Spencer.  He played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last year and he had 66 tackles, 6 sacks, 7 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  Spencer has now played in 76 games in his first five years with the Cowboys and he has 266 tackles, 21.5 sacks, 21 tackles for a loss, 10 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 10 passes defensed and 1 interception.  This was a smart move for the Cowboys as Spencer is a good pass rusher and a big time playmaker.

Owner/GM Jerry Jones did a nice job in last April’s NFL Draft as they found two impact players on offense in OT Tyron Smith and RB DeMarco Murray.  They also got some nice complementary type players who could see their roles expand in the future.  Here is a look at how the rookie class did in 2011:

21-year old OT Tyron Smith came to the Cowboys in the first round last April and he was really good as a rookie.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Cowboys last year.  He is going to be a big part of the foundation of the Cowboys’ O-Line both now and in the future.

23-year old LB Bruce Carter didn’t get to play much as the Cowboys have a pretty solid LBing unit.  Carter played in 10 games for the Cowboys last year and he had 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

23-year old RB DeMarco Murray was a steal in the 3rd round for the Cowboys.  He played in 13 games for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 164 times for 897 yards (5.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 26 passes for 183 yards (7.0 avg) and he returned 2 kickoffs for 36 yards (18.0 avg).  Murray is likely going to push Felix Jones out of his starting role in 2012.

24-year old OG David Arkin was a 4th round pick last April.  He didn’t get into any games for the Cowboys in 2011 as he was banged up most of the year.  He still could develop into a decent O-lineman if he can stay healthy.

22-year old CB Josh Thomas came to the Cowboys in the 5th round last April.  He didn’t make the cut with the Cowboys and he was picked up by the Panthers.  Thomas played in 9 games for the Panthers last year and he had 1 tackle and 1 fumble recovery.

24-year old WR Dwayne Harris was a 6th round pick for the Cowboys.  He was outstanding in the pre-season for the Cowboys but he didn’t catch any passes for them in the regular season.  Harris played in 7 games for the Cowboys last year and he returned 15 punts for 80 yards (5.3 ypc) and he also returned 8 kickoffs for 231 yards (28.9 avg).  The Cowboys cut Harris early in the season but they brought him back a few weeks later and he’s still with the team.

23-year old FB Shaun Chapas was a 7th round pick of the Cowboys.  He only played in 3 games for the Cowboys last year and he didn’t touch the ball.

24-year old OG Bill Nagy was also a 7th round pick of the Cowboys.  He won a starting job right off the bat.  He played in 4 games (all starts) for the Cowboys last year.  His season ended due to a severe ankle injury.  I look for Nagy to reclaim his starting job in 2012 if he can stay healthy.

GRADE FOR THE 2011 SEASON:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+