While the loss of Orlando Scandrick is no doubt devastating for the Dallas Cowboys, hopeful of making a return trip to the postseason and potentially onto the Super Bowl, there may be a silver lining in Scandrick's injury for fans of the team. A recent report, from Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN, suggests that the Cowboys are very "high" on former undrafted free agent corner Tyler Patmon, who may be in line for some significant snaps in place of the down-for-the-year Scandrick.
Per Russini, the team is so high on Patmon, in fact, that they've turned down numerous trade offers from interested teams already. Dallas reportedly offered a firm "no" in response which, in hindsight, seems like a very shrewd move.
While Patmon's presence on the Cowboys roster can at least partially be attributed to the complete lack of contribution from high-paid piñatas Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr, much of it can also be attributed to Patmon's approach on and off the field.
Patmon, 24, played collegiately at Oklahoma State. The 5-foot-10, 188-pound corner appeared in 11 regular season games for Dallas in 2014, notching eight tackles and one interception, which he promptly returned 58-yards for a touchdown. You can check out the highlight of that play here.
Patmon originally attended the University of Kansas and after three fairly strong seasons there made a surprise decision to transfer to Ok. State. He announced via twitter that the move was "not by choice," according to Lindsay Draper of 5PointsBlue.com, but there was no further information made available at the time.
After going undrafted, Patmon was invited along with a bevy of other players for a tryout at Valley Ranch. He was signed by the team and managed to stick thanks to tremendous effort through training camp and the preseason. Patmon attributes that to his attitude day in and day out.
"Lion hearted. I have a heart of a lion. Nobody's going to outwork me, no one's got more hunger to be in the league, I take pride in that. Ever since I was little, people have overlooked me," Patmon said prior to last season, via Draper.
Now, with Scandrick down and the Cowboys fending off interested trade partners, Patmon's time to shine is here. His efforts this season, along with those of recent first-round pick Byron Jones, will go a long way toward determining whether Dallas makes another dash to the playoffs or goes home empty-handed yet again.
