{"id":120197,"date":"2025-11-13T07:39:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T07:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=120197"},"modified":"2025-11-13T07:39:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T07:39:43","slug":"%f0%9f%92%aa-lineup-power-cowboys-add-a-massive-6-foot-4-307-pound-lineman-ahead-of-the-raiders-showdown-the-move-has-fans-buzzing-about-the-teams-newfound-strength-and-if-he-performs-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=120197","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udcaa LINEUP POWER: Cowboys add a massive 6-foot-4, 307-pound lineman ahead of the Raiders showdown, the move has fans buzzing about the team\u2019s newfound strength, and if he performs, it could tilt the battle and redefine the offensive front\u2026ll"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cowboys-Add-Marcellus-Johnson.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cowboys-Add-Marcellus-Johnson.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cowboys-Add-Marcellus-Johnson.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cowboys-Add-Marcellus-Johnson.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cowboys Add 6-Foot-4, 307-Pound Lineman Ahead of Raiders Showdown\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Head coach Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Dallas Cowboys, losers of two in a row and three of their last four, have a golden opportunity to right the ship coming out of their bye week when they take on one of the most disappointing teams of 2025, the 2-7 Las Vegas Raiders, in a Monday Night Football matchup.<\/p>\n<p>But the Cowboys are taking no chances, at least with their offensive line depth, after losing a practice squad lineman on Tuesday when former Washington Commanders third round draft pick Geron Christian was given a shot at an active roster spot as the Denver Broncos swooped in and signed him away.<\/p>\n<p>With the 6-foot-5, 302-pound offensive tackle now departed, the Cowboys wasted no time in replacing him with another massive lineman who plays the same tackle position. On Wednesday, Dallas signed 6-foot-4, 307-pound lineman Marcellus Johnson to their practice squad, according to the team\u2019s transaction report.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Cowboys OL Has Held its Own<\/h2>\n<p>The Cowboys\u2019 offensive line has not been at the root of the team\u2019s problems, but at 3-5-1 and hopes of returning to the postseason after missing out last year rapidly dwindling, Dallas cannot afford to spring any new leaks. Quarterback Dak Prescott has benefited from the third-lowest sack percentage in the NFL (4.2), going down behind the line of scrimmage just 15 times in nine games, the seventh-lowest total in the league.<\/p>\n<p>Though his offensive line has largely managed to protect him from sacks, Prescott has nonetheless found himself under pressure more than he, or the Cowboys, would like. His average time-to-throw of 2.6 seconds ranks him only 19th in the NFL, among quarterbacks who have taken at least 100 snaps this season.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Yet to Play in an NFL Game<\/h2>\n<p>It would probably take a series of injuries to allow Johnson to take his turn on the active roster protecting Prescott. The difference between the 2024 undrafted free agent and his predecessor Christian is pronounced.<\/p>\n<p>Where Christian has appeared in 63 NFL games, starting 25 for six different teams over seven seasons, Johnson has yet to be on the field for a single snap in game that counts. Since signing a $2.85 million, three-year contract with the New York Giants in 2024 \u2014 a contract that was terminated almost immediately in favor of a $225,000 practice squad deal \u2014 Johnson has bounced around between the practice squads of the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts for two seasons.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Compared to College Teammate<\/h2>\n<p>When the Giants signed Johnson initially, they guaranteed $170,000 of his contract, the most they gave any UDFA in their 2024 class.<\/p>\n<p>The Colts released Johnson from their practice squad on October 14, and he remained without a football home for almost a month before the Cowboys signed him on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>At the time of the 2024 draft, one NFL insider said that he had rated Johnson as \u201ca legitimate NFL player,\u201d and graded him \u201calmost as high\u201d as his former Eastern Michigan teammate, Sidy Sow.<\/p>\n<p>Sow, a 6-foot-5, 318-pound offensive lineman was drafted in 2023, in the third round, by the New England Patriots. The Patriots released Sow in August, and the 27-year-old lineman was subsequently signed to the Houston Texans\u2018 practice squad. The Texans elevated Sow to their active roster on November 8.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin<\/p>\n<h2>More Heavy on Cowboys<\/h2>\n<p>Loading more stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After losing an offensive lineman earlier in the week, the Dallas Cowboys wasted no time adding to their depth at the position Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":120200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>\ud83d\udcaa LINEUP POWER: Cowboys add a massive 6-foot-4, 307-pound lineman ahead of the Raiders showdown, the move has fans buzzing about the team\u2019s newfound strength, and if he performs, it could tilt the battle and redefine the offensive front\u2026ll - 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