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SAN ANTONIO - Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, defensive tackle Tank Johnson, safety Roy Williams, wide receiver Antonio Bryant, cornerback Pacman Jones and wide receiver Terrell Owens.
That's the list, all six prominent Cincinnati Bengals tracing their career path, at one point or another, back to the Cowboys, and all five of the players parting ways with the team under less than ideal terms. Whether it's meant giving second, third, fourth or even fifth chances, the Bengals have shown no problems taking risks on players who have worn out their welcome elsewhere.
"I understand why they've done it," owner Jerry Jones said. "It's ironic (they) have got a couple of those guys that have played for us, but to me it shows the positive qualities that they could bring to a team. I respect (Bengals owner, president and general manager) Mike Brown, but he's aware that with that comes the iffy-ness of, are these guys going to really contribute toward the team concept?
"I've done it and I'll do it again."
If the return of NFL football after its six-month offseason hiatus doesn't make Sunday's Pro Football Hall of Game in Canton, Ohio interesting enough, the 7 p.m. (CT) reunion party certainly should.
Zimmer, who was dismissed by Bill Parcells in 2006 after 12 seasons as an assistant in Dallas, including seven calling the defense, now presides over a unit featuring three players who were let loose by the Cowboys after a disappointing 2008 campaign. Pacman Jones was the first to go, his release announced on Jan. 7 following new allegations of his involvement in a shooting outside an Atlanta nightclub while on NFL suspension in 2007. Acquired from Tennessee via trade, Jones played just 10 games in one season with the Cowboys, missing six while suspended for a scrape with his team-appointed bodyguard.
Johnson, who signed with the Cowboys then served out an eight-game suspension at the beginning of the 2007 season, celebrated his impending free agency in the Cowboys locker room after the team was kept out of the playoffs by a 44-6 loss to Philadelphia at the end of '08. He played 24 games with the club, registering two starts.
Williams, the Cowboys' top pick in the 2002 draft (No. 8 overall), played seven years with the club, sandwiching five Pro Bowls between an All-Rookie campaign and a final season shortened to just three appearances by a fractured forearm. He was released on March 5, 2008, ironically a side note to that day's biggest news.
Following three productive but often distraction-inducing seasons with the club, Owens was officially released with Williams the day after a meeting with Jerry Jones. He signed a one-year contract with Buffalo three days later, but registered his least productive season since he was a rookie, catching only 55 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns. After becoming a free agent in March, he remained unsigned until July 27, when he finalized a one-year deal worth up to $4 million with Cincinnati.
Before adding Owens, the Bengals in March signed Bryant to a four-year contract worth $28 million, plus incentives. Bryant was a Cowboys' second-round pick (No. 63 overall) in 2002, and was impressive as a rookie. He didn't fair as well in his second season and was traded to Cleveland early in 2004 after clashing with the Cowboys' new coaching staff, most noticeably by throwing a towel in the face of coach Bill Parcells and being dismissed from summer practice. The mercurial receiver was with the Browns through 2005, but has also had stops in San Francisco and Tampa Bay. He was out of football for all of 2008.
Aside from players facing their former teammates, secondary coach Dave Campo will be reunited with Zimmer, a longtime Cowboys coworker who ascended to defensive coordinator when Campo became the team's head coach in 2000.
"I just texted him yesterday," Campo said. "I said I'm looking forward to seeing you this weekend. … I'm looking forward to seeing Roy. He was one of my first draft picks when I was a head coach, so I'm excited to see him and Pacman and all the guys."
Campo said he's glad to see some of the former Cowboys getting second chances. Before taking the risks for which they have become known, the Bengals do their research on prospective players. Last year it was Zimmer reaching out to Campo for a thought on Williams, and again this offseason with Jones.
"He asked me and I told him what I thought," Campo said. "He's got to make the final decision. Unless a guy's real bad I'm not going to kill him, that's just not the way I feel. But I told him kind of what they were like and then you go from there. He's got to make the decision.
"Some guys fit in one place and don't fit in somewhere else, that's just the way it is."
To most of the Cowboys-turned-Bengals, and many of their former teammates, one place they fit was in the Valley Ranch locker room. Though no longer on the same team, many of the players remain friendly.
That makes Sunday's matchup, a game without consequence, a good setting for the reunion.
"That was my introduction to the NFL," cornerback Mike Jenkins, a 2008 draft pick, said. "When I got here I was with Pacman and Tank and Roy. T.O. made me better; he was one of the guys I definitely wanted to go up against every day. I made sure that I at least got a one-on-one with him in. He's one of the guys that made me the player I am.
"It's always good to get another chance. I'm rooting for them all to do good."
That's the list, all six prominent Cincinnati Bengals tracing their career path, at one point or another, back to the Cowboys, and all five of the players parting ways with the team under less than ideal terms. Whether it's meant giving second, third, fourth or even fifth chances, the Bengals have shown no problems taking risks on players who have worn out their welcome elsewhere.
"I understand why they've done it," owner Jerry Jones said. "It's ironic (they) have got a couple of those guys that have played for us, but to me it shows the positive qualities that they could bring to a team. I respect (Bengals owner, president and general manager) Mike Brown, but he's aware that with that comes the iffy-ness of, are these guys going to really contribute toward the team concept?
"I've done it and I'll do it again."
If the return of NFL football after its six-month offseason hiatus doesn't make Sunday's Pro Football Hall of Game in Canton, Ohio interesting enough, the 7 p.m. (CT) reunion party certainly should.
Zimmer, who was dismissed by Bill Parcells in 2006 after 12 seasons as an assistant in Dallas, including seven calling the defense, now presides over a unit featuring three players who were let loose by the Cowboys after a disappointing 2008 campaign. Pacman Jones was the first to go, his release announced on Jan. 7 following new allegations of his involvement in a shooting outside an Atlanta nightclub while on NFL suspension in 2007. Acquired from Tennessee via trade, Jones played just 10 games in one season with the Cowboys, missing six while suspended for a scrape with his team-appointed bodyguard.
Johnson, who signed with the Cowboys then served out an eight-game suspension at the beginning of the 2007 season, celebrated his impending free agency in the Cowboys locker room after the team was kept out of the playoffs by a 44-6 loss to Philadelphia at the end of '08. He played 24 games with the club, registering two starts.
Williams, the Cowboys' top pick in the 2002 draft (No. 8 overall), played seven years with the club, sandwiching five Pro Bowls between an All-Rookie campaign and a final season shortened to just three appearances by a fractured forearm. He was released on March 5, 2008, ironically a side note to that day's biggest news.
Following three productive but often distraction-inducing seasons with the club, Owens was officially released with Williams the day after a meeting with Jerry Jones. He signed a one-year contract with Buffalo three days later, but registered his least productive season since he was a rookie, catching only 55 passes for 829 yards and five touchdowns. After becoming a free agent in March, he remained unsigned until July 27, when he finalized a one-year deal worth up to $4 million with Cincinnati.
Before adding Owens, the Bengals in March signed Bryant to a four-year contract worth $28 million, plus incentives. Bryant was a Cowboys' second-round pick (No. 63 overall) in 2002, and was impressive as a rookie. He didn't fair as well in his second season and was traded to Cleveland early in 2004 after clashing with the Cowboys' new coaching staff, most noticeably by throwing a towel in the face of coach Bill Parcells and being dismissed from summer practice. The mercurial receiver was with the Browns through 2005, but has also had stops in San Francisco and Tampa Bay. He was out of football for all of 2008.
Aside from players facing their former teammates, secondary coach Dave Campo will be reunited with Zimmer, a longtime Cowboys coworker who ascended to defensive coordinator when Campo became the team's head coach in 2000.
"I just texted him yesterday," Campo said. "I said I'm looking forward to seeing you this weekend. … I'm looking forward to seeing Roy. He was one of my first draft picks when I was a head coach, so I'm excited to see him and Pacman and all the guys."
Campo said he's glad to see some of the former Cowboys getting second chances. Before taking the risks for which they have become known, the Bengals do their research on prospective players. Last year it was Zimmer reaching out to Campo for a thought on Williams, and again this offseason with Jones.
"He asked me and I told him what I thought," Campo said. "He's got to make the final decision. Unless a guy's real bad I'm not going to kill him, that's just not the way I feel. But I told him kind of what they were like and then you go from there. He's got to make the decision.
"Some guys fit in one place and don't fit in somewhere else, that's just the way it is."
To most of the Cowboys-turned-Bengals, and many of their former teammates, one place they fit was in the Valley Ranch locker room. Though no longer on the same team, many of the players remain friendly.
That makes Sunday's matchup, a game without consequence, a good setting for the reunion.
"That was my introduction to the NFL," cornerback Mike Jenkins, a 2008 draft pick, said. "When I got here I was with Pacman and Tank and Roy. T.O. made me better; he was one of the guys I definitely wanted to go up against every day. I made sure that I at least got a one-on-one with him in. He's one of the guys that made me the player I am.
"It's always good to get another chance. I'm rooting for them all to do good."