Earlier this offseason, former Philadelphia Eagles veteran wide receiver Parris Campbell signed a one-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys. For Campbell, joining the Cowboys seemed like a solid move on paper given their wide receiver room, which has mostly unproven talent outside of star CeeDee Lamb.
The former Eagle wouldn’t be one of Dallas’ top-three starting receivers, but could find a way to compete for a depth spot on the 53-man roster. However, Campbell’s quest to make the 53-man roster might’ve gotten harder this week after the Cowboys acquired young wide receiver George Pickens in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The ex-Steelers wide receiver becomes the Cowboys' WR2 alongside Lamb, pushing everyone else down the depth chart. Campbell likely won’t compete for Dallas’ WR3 spot, as that will be between Jalen Tolbert and Jonathan Mingo.
Therefore, the former Eagles wideout could be fighting for one or two wide receiver spots in Dallas this summer. Now, what helps Campbell in a training camp battle is that he has six years (49 games) of NFL experience.
Last year, when the Eagles were missing DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown during the early part of the season because of injury, Philadelphia turned to Campbell, who was on the practice squad.
The veteran receiver turned in six receptions (eight targets) for 30 yards and a touchdown in five games. Campbell’s lone touchdown came in a Week 4 blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While Campbell didn’t do much offensively with the Eagles, he has shown over his NFL career that he can be a starting-caliber wide receiver, which he did in 2022 with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys hope they don’t have to push Campbell into a starting role this season, as that would mean something went wrong. However, the former Eagle has to worry about winning a job during training camp and preseason, first and foremost.