FRISCO, Texas — This won't be Derion Kendrick's first NFL team, but it still counts as a full‑circle moment.
The newly signed cornerback couldn't be happier to join the Dallas Cowboys this week — not just because it's another opportunity to catch on with a team that clearly needs defensive help. For Kendrick, it's deeper than that. He's considered himself a "Cowboy for a long time," dating back to his Little League days in South Carolina, where he first suited up in a football uniform.
"I can't explain it. I started out like this (with the Cowboys)," Kendrick explained. "Life comes in full circles. I grew up playing for my city, the Rock Hill Cowboys. It's like a dream come true. This is America's Team… Growing up, my aunt was forcing it on me — 'Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Cowboys' — until I started watching football on my own. But life is coming full circle. It's God's timing."
A sixth‑round pick of the Rams in 2022, Kendrick played two seasons in Los Angeles and then spent the first half of last season with Seattle before being released in late November. He was quickly claimed back by the Rams, where he finished the year with five games played.
Now that he's wearing the Cowboys star on his helmet at the professional level, Kendrick describes himself as a "smart, feisty, physical and ball‑aware corner."
One thing about playing for the Seahawks and Rams last year is that Kendrick had practice battles with three of the best receivers in the NFL: Jaxson Smith‑Njigba, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. That should help prepare him for the offseason and training camp, when he'll line up opposite the likes of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, who was his college teammate at Georgia.
Kendrick views those practice battles as a way to get himself ready to play on Sundays.
"That's how you have to look at it. Another day of work," he said. "I know what I've got. I played with GP in college. Great guy. Loves to compete. I do, too. It's going to be some great practices to get each other ready for Sunday."
With the additions of Kendrick and Corey Ballentine this week, the Cowboys now have nine cornerbacks on the roster, along with DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel, Cobie Durant, Calen Carson, Josh Butler, Reddy Steward and Trikweze Bridges.
