Dallas Cowboys: Prepare to be without CB Kelvin Joseph

As with every offseason, a lot of unplanned things can happen between the Super Bowl and Training Camp. And that’s certainly no exception this year for the Dallas Cowboys as they navigate the treacherous waters that flow between their postseason finale and August 1st in Oxnard.

Players come. Players go. Players can get hurt. Players can also get in trouble, get suspended, and even get cut at the last minute. That last sentence specifically applies to second year cornerback, Kelvin Joseph.

The Dallas Cowboys should prepare to be without cornerback Kelvin Joseph

On March 18th, Kelvin Joseph and others were involved in a violent altercation that ultimately resulted in shots fired and the death of a young man. Joseph has been said to not be among the shooters, but he was still allegedly in the vehicle that fired the deadly shots.

After cooperating with police (nearly a month later), arrests have been made. While there is no indication charges are pending for Joseph, he is far from absolved in this deadly situation. The NFL is undoubtedly doing their own investigating and Roger Goodell, who acts as judge, jury, and executioner, has never needed legal charges to issue his own punishment.

As such, a suspension shouldn’t just be prepared for, but expected. Given the severity of the situation and negative publicity this has brought to the NFL brand, leniency would be shocking.

This is important for the Dallas Cowboys to accept as they prepare for the 2022 campaign. Therefore penciling Kelvin Joseph into any role this season would be overly optimistic and borderline irresponsible.

The Dallas Cowboys are clearly taking the wait-and-see approach to this situation. The fact they didn’t immediately cut Joseph after details of his involvement were revealed speaks volumes. They seem willing to wade the storm and see this thing through. Perhaps they also want to see the results of a deeper investigation before they commit one way or another.

This isn’t a finger wave of morality on my part; it’s simply an objective view of what we can expect. We can expect punishment.

It’s hard to envision a situation in which Kelvin Joseph gets the full “George Willis Jr. Treatment” just for pretending to be cooperative after the fact (shameless Scent of a Woman reference). And we know there’s no love lost between Goodell and the Dallas Cowboys so even if Jerry Jones goes full-on Al Pacino with flamethrower threats, the punishment will likely stand.

Given the likelihood KJ will not be available to play in Week 1, the Dallas Cowboys’ Plan B at CB2 should really be their Plan A at this point. The odds are stacked against KJ and while we have roughly zero intel on which way the league is leaning, the severity of the situation and the NFL track record indicate a suspension is highly probable.

Are the Dallas Cowboys happy to play the 2022 NFL season with Anthony Brown starting outside again? Are they willing to gamble and throw Nahshon Wright into the fire? If neither are attractive options to them they should do something about it because Kelvin Joseph probably isn’t a viable solution.

Should the Cowboys cut Kelvin Joseph? Should the league only suspend players who have been charged with a crime? Those are entirely different questions. This is about planning for 2022 and the Dallas Cowboys should plan for Joseph to be out for an indefinite amount of time because odds are that’s what’s going to happen.

What would you like to see the Dallas Cowboys do at CB2 in 2022?