The Dallas Cowboys have been linked to the hottest name on the NFL free agent market, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Unfortunately, the playoff contenders had concern over Beckham’s recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in February’s Super Bowl when he was a member of the Los Angeles Rams.
It did not take long for owner Jerry Jones and Co. to pivot from OBJ. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Dallas has added four-time Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton to the mix.
The report indicates that Hilton visited with the Cowboys on Monday and will sign with the team for the stretch run.
This seemingly comes out of nowhere. The 33-year-old Hilton had not been on the radar of NFL teams after last playing as a member of his original Indianapolis Colts team in 2021. He now joins a legitimate Super Bowl contender with just a few weeks to go in the regular season.
A third-round pick of the Colts out of Florida International back in 2012, Hilton was once one of the most consistent receivers in the NFL. He led the league with 1,448 receiving yards in catching passes from Andrew Luck back in 2016.
That was part of a six-year run in which Hilton averaged 76 receptions for north of 1,200 yards. Injury and age have caught up with him since.
- T.Y. Hilton stats (2019-21): 124 receptions, 1,594 yards, 13 TD, 62.6% catch rate
Last season in Indianapolis saw Hilton catch a career-low 23 passes for 331 yards in 10 games. He missed seven games to injury.
The 10-3 Cowboys have been looking for depth at wide receiver behind CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup. Lamb leads Dallas with 74 receptions for 961 yards. Noah Brown is the team’s second-leading pass-catcher from the wide receiver position with 34 catches for 484 yards. Meanwhile, Gallup has caught 30 passes in 10 games since returning from a torn ACL he suffered last season.
The Dallas Cowboys head into Week 15 having won four consecutive games and six of their past seven. Adding Hilton is only going to help from a depth standpoint moving forward.
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