FRISCO, Texas — A familiar face is making its way back to North Texas to help the Dallas Cowboys round out their 16-man practice squad ahead of their coming battle at Lincoln Financial Field against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1, and it's none other than Isaiah Land.
The 25-year-old traveled o Dallas to sign with the club on Thursday, joining former Ravens' defensive end Adedayo Odeleye, the latter being a 27-year-old native of Nigeria who qualifies for the International Pathway Program exemption; and whose previous NFL stint was with the Houston Texans.
A former Buck Buchanan Award, First-team FCS All-American and SWAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, an overall two-time First-team All-SWAC talent (2021, 2022), Land initially joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Florida A&M in 2023 — a former teammate of veteran safety Markquese Bell whom he'll again reunite with this week.
Land went on to become a beaming bright spot throughout training camp and the preseason of his rookie campaign, and though he was waived by the Cowboys during roster cutdowns in late August, the hope was he'd clear waivers and re-sign to the team's practice squad.
That plan was uprooted when the Indianapolis Colts put in a successful waiver claim.
Having spent his last two seasons in Indianapolis, Land was waived just ahead of this year's roster deadline but, this time, he was able to clear waivers and, as such, became a free agent able to sign with any of the 32 NFL teams; and he's choosing to return to the city where his NFL career began three seasons ago.
Doing so means the Cowboys will boast not one or two, but three HBCU alum on their roster — Land going so far as to turn down offers from several Power Five schools to return to Tallahasee for his final year — including the aforementioned Markquese Bell and James Houston, the latter being a Jackson State product that carved a path to the roster this season thanks to an exceptional camp and stretch of play in the preseason, leading head coach Brian Schottenheimer to label him "unblockable".
As for Bell, who signed a three-year extension with the Cowboys and was named the 2024 Black College Football Pro Player of the Year by the NFLPA, it goes without saying he's made quite the name for himself and, like Land, hails from the alma mater of legendary Cowboys' offensive lineman Nate Newton.
Land is looking to make an impact himself on the league, and for the Cowboys; and former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn didn't hold back on his review of the young pass rusher in their time together during the summer of 2023.
"I've had my eye on Zay for some time," Quinn said during 2023 rookie minicamp. "I first saw him [as I was] looking at Bell from a year ago, and he had a fantastic junior year — Zay did. He had over 20 sacks and really lit it up. Who is this guy?
"So, I kept up with him … I remember telling Markquese at the combine, 'Hey, Zay ran well. He did really good.' He said, 'He's a dog.' So, from that time, I've always had my vision on him: the size, the length, could this defensive end play linebacker, could he go down? I know he can rush. Just trying to add — is it one of the examples of what else can they do?"
That's a question that won't be answered for Quinn, but might be for Matt Eberflus, the successor to Quinn's successor at the position.
