This rookie may not have the opportunity to handle the football again this year

Hunter Luepke, a rookie fullback, lost the ball on the goal line last year after a bad exchange with Dak Prescott in Miami.

Luepke never touched the football again over the last two games of the 2024 regular season. He was a non-factor in the final game loss to Green Bay.

At the end of training camp before this season, there was some doubt about whether Luepke would make the last roster.

Ryan Flournoy, a rookie wide receiver picked in the sixth round from Southeast Missouri State, comes in. Because Brandin Cooks hurt his knee, Flournoy has played some in the last two weeks.

Prescott never targeted him in his first NFL game, which was last Sunday against the Steelers. He did play 10 offensive snaps and 15 special teams snaps.

He got one target in the Lions’ big win on Sunday.

Luepke’s case could be the last one he faces if Mike McCarthy is like that all the time.

Flournoy caught the pass and gained 12 yards. Right away, he dropped the ball, and the Lions quickly took it back.

Since the score was 47-9, you can’t say that the mistake changed the outcome of the game.

But rookies need to make the most of the chances that come their way to help them stand out to their coaches.

Putting the ball down when you finally have a chance? That is for sure the best way to get a spot on the bench.

One thing Flournoy is sure of is that Luepke made the team this year and has been touched more than once.

Check out how the other rookies did.

Tyler Guyton

The first-round pick out of Oklahoma, Guyton, had started at left tackle the first five games of the season. On Sunday, he never saw the field.

Guyton’s fall from grace began when he was injured during the Steelers’ victory.

After he left the game, Tyler Smith moved to left tackle and the Cowboys’ running game suddenly found life.

It remains to be seen if Guyton can regain his starting job after the bye week. Either way, it was a huge setback for the player Dallas thought was a sure bet to replace the future Hall of Famer, Tyron Smith.

Marshawn Kneeland

The Cowboys’ second-round pick, Kneeland, partially tore his lateral meniscus in the win over Pittsburgh and is officially on IR.

The good news is that he did not tear his ACL. That injury would have ended his season. Kneeland will likely be out until late November.

Cooper Beebe

The third-round pick from Kansas State, Cooper Beebe, is claiming the best pick of the Cowboys’ 2024 Draft as the team hits the one-third mark of the season.

Beebe has been everything the Cowboys could ask for, starting at center in all six games. Beebe has taken all 413 offensive snaps at center.

He’s only gotten two penalties all year, an ineligible player downfield and a holding call.

Marist Liufau

The third-round pick from Notre Dame, Marist Liufau, got his third start of the season but only saw 28 plays, just 41% of the total defensive snaps, against the Lions.

Liufau ended with two stops. Just one was a solo stop.

Caelen Carson

The fifth-round pick from Wake Forest, Caelen Carson, was inactive for Sunday’s game. It was the third straight game Carson has missed.

He continues to heal from a shoulder injury experienced two weeks ago against the Ravens.

Nathan Thomas

Offensive Tackle Nathan Thomas, the seventh round pick out of Louisiana, is on injured reserve.

But at least he is still in the organization. His fellow seventh round pick, Justin Rogers, was cut before the season began and is now on the Bengals’ practice squad.

The Undrafted

Tight End Brevyn Spann-Ford, who is from Minnesota, played 13 offensive snaps on Sunday but was never targeted. He also played 10 snaps on defense.

The other three rookies who were not picked in the draft are on the practice squad right now.

It’s likely that safety Emany Johnson, defensive tackle Denzel Daxon, and linebacker Brock Mogensen will stay there until they get hurt and need to be called up.

Writer on Staff

Richard Paolinelli writes and writes about sports. In addition to his work at InsideTheStar.com, he has a Substack — Dispatches From A SciFi Scribe – where he covers numerous themes, including sports in general. He started his newspaper job in 1991 with the Gallup (NM) Independent before going to the Modesto (CA) Bee, Gustine (CA) Press-Standard, and Turlock (CA) Journal — where he won the 2001 Best Sports Story, in the yearly California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest. He then went to the Merced (CA) Sun-Star, Tracy (CA) Press, Patch and finished his work in 2011 with the San Francisco (CA) Examiner. Along with 11 novels and more than 30 short stories, he has written two non-fiction sports books.

Jerry Jones’s unsuccessful apology effort prompts radio host to lash out at him

Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of a terrible spiral.

Tuesday morning, after the Cowboys’ 47-9 home defeat to the Detroit Lions in Week 6, Jones made his weekly visit on 105.3 The Fan’s “Shan & RJ” program, when he criticized the presenters for their way of asking questions.

The 82-year-old tried to set the record straight with The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Jon Machota after taking a lot of heat online for what many saw as an unjustified attack.

One of the radio show’s co-hosts retaliated against Jones on Tuesday night via social media after his inadequate apologies (if that’s the right word).

Is this real life???
I WISH Jerry Jones paid me
He insults us again and we’ve had back and forth over WAY bigger things in our 14 years.

I truly don’t understand what the hell is going on.
Full thoughts tomorrow morning @1053thefan #ShanandRJ https://t.co/axgXqhZSWd

— Shan Shariff (@1053SS) October 15, 2024

One more thing before I truly unload tom @1053thefan:

I may not have the ancient football rolodex that Jerry has, but even this football dummy could see what was coming after his laughable, insulting offseason.

And I PROMISE you don’t actually want to interact with real fans. https://t.co/axgXqhZSWd

— Shan Shariff (@1053SS) October 16, 2024

Jones decided to unleash his fury on the Dallas media at the most inconvenient moment, during his team’s dismal 3-3 start (0-3 home record) and their worst home defeat since 1988.

Years of being dubbed “America’s Team” haven’t translated into a Super Bowl victory for the Cowboys since 1995. Despite 13 trips to the playoffs, Dallas hasn’t been back to the Super Bowl (or even a conference championship game) since Jones won three titles in his first seven seasons with the team.

After their bye week, the Cowboys will face tough road opponents in Weeks 8 and 9, respectively, in the 49ers (3-3) and Falcons (4-2). Following their Week 10 and Week 11 home games against the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) and the Houston Texans (5-1) respectively, Dallas will travel to Washington, DC, to face the Washington Commanders (4-2) in Week 12.