With OTAs and mandatory minicamp officially in the books, the next important date on the NFL calendar is training camp, which begins next month.
Training camp and preseason provide rookies and veterans one more chance to make a good impression on the coaching staff before the 53-man roster deadline in late August. If you didn’t do your best in OTAs or minicamp, you get one more shot to prove yourself.
Over the next several weeks, many former Dallas Cowboys players will be competing for jobs on the 53-man roster or practice squad. Some of those ex-Cowboys might be lucky enough to be on the Week 1 roster, while others might be back in the free agent market.
Former Cowboys defender Amari Oruwariye could be in the latter category with the Tennessee Titans. The 29-year-old cornerback signed a one-year deal with the Titans last month after he spent the 2024 campaign with the Cowboys.
Oruwariye was signed to Dallas’ practice squad at the end of preseason last summer and was promoted to the active roster in October. The veteran defensive back logged a ton of defensive snaps (286) as he appeared in seven games (four starts).
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound cornerback racked up 29 combined tackles, three pass deflections, a tackle for loss, and an interception. However, Oruwariye wasn’t the best in pass coverage, with a 75.0 completion percentage allowed on targets, a 119.4 pass rating allowed when targeted, and giving up two receiving touchdowns.
That said, Oruwariye was still able to get another opportunity with the Titans, whose secondary isn’t the most talented on paper. Therefore, one would think the former Cowboys defender has a chance to make the 53-man roster.
However, if you look at the recent 53-man roster projections from Titans beat writers, it doesn’t seem like they believe Oruwariye will make the team. And then to make things more interesting, we haven’t heard much about Oruwariye in OTAs or minicamp.
Nonetheless, the ex-Cowboys cornerback has a lot to prove after signing a cheap one-year deal that the Titans can get out of easily. Since he’s more of a depth option, Oruwariye must stand out in training camp, whether on defense or special teams.