Malik McDowell is still looking to play football again. The talented defensive lineman was taken by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2017 draft, but has never played a down in the NFL. An ATV accident before his rookie year resulted in serious injuries that up until this point have prevented him from playing. The Seahawks finally decided to move on and waived him earlier this month after he couldn’t gain clearance. He still wants to play however, and recently met with the Cowboys.
McDowell’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, revealed today that McDowell had been cleared to play again by independent doctors (Twitter link via Calvin Watkins of The Athletic). However, the Cowboys’ team doctors have been unable to clear him yet. Clarence Hill Jr. of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram tweeted that Rosenhaus also said the Cowboys remain interested his client, but it sounds like there’s still a big medical hurdle to clear. It seems Dallas’ interest is legitimate, and if their doctors are able to clear him there’s a very good chance he’d sign. He was the 35th overall pick out of Michigan State for a reason, so if he’s ever able to get back on the field it could prove to be a great pickup.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Center Matt Paradis left the Broncos this offseason, and signed a big deal with the Panthers. We heard shortly before he signed with Carolina that Denver was working to re-sign him, but that apparently wasn’t a realistic effort. The Broncos essentially lowballed Paradis, offering him a one-year “look-see” deal that they knew he wouldn’t accept, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9News. Despite the reported effort, it sounds like the Broncos never truly intended to retain Paradis, who got three years and $27MM from the Panthers.
- Speaking of the Broncos, their ownership dispute could be inching toward a resolution. Brittany Bowlen, one of the daughters of owner Pat Bowlen vying to take over the team, will soon start a job in Denver’s front office, Broncos CEO Joe Ellis told Klis (Twitter link). There’s been a drawn out dramatic dispute playing out between members of the Bowlen family for a while now, and Brittany is believed to be the favorite of Broncos and league brass. Klis calls it a “potential huge step” toward her one day taking over the team.
- We heard a couple of weeks ago that the Browns were shopping Emmanuel Ogbah, and that’s apparently still the case. Ogbah is still being shopped, a source told Tony Grossi of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Grossi reports that “there’s a lot of interest” in the defensive end. Ogbah is still only 25 and on his rookie deal, so it makes sense that there’s legit interest. With Olivier Vernon now in the fold opposite Myles Garrett, the Browns don’t have much of a need for Ogbah.
There should be a lot of interest in Ogbah. The guy is extremely talented, but he’s easentially played for 3 different sets of coaches and management and 3 different GMs in 3 years, which is a big reason why his numbers are so mediocre. I’m still questioning whether the price of trading for Vernon was worth it: not just Kevin Zeitler, but the consequence of now looking to move Ogbah because Vernon replaces him in the lineup. On the other hand, if they are holding out for good draft pick return on Ogbah, they just
might get it and these moves make more sense.
He’s played with one defensive CO in Cleveland and that was Williams. He had two GMs in Dorsey and Brown.
And Vernon has proven to be much more effective, even against guys with much higher talent levels.
I agree that there should be a lot of interest in Ogbah; if he played for any other team, he’s the exact type of player I’d want the Browns to acquire. He could be a good change of scenery candidate.
But at the same time, I don’t think it’s fair to blame the coaching staffs he’s had on why he hasn’t fully panned out. Schobert was also a Sashi Brown pick (and a few rounds later), and he’s been one of the best guys on their defense. Myles Garrett was too, but that’s obviously not a perfect comparison since he was the clear best player in the draft the year he came out.
I think, for whatever reason, it just boils down to him not being the right fit. He’s had some injuries, but he’s been in the league for three years without making you legitimately believe there’s more to tap into. He hasn’t shown any significant improvement at getting after the quarterback (even playing across Garrett), and there was definitely room to improve.
I would doubt they could get more than a fourth rounder for him, but that would probably be worth it to give Dorsey another lottery ticket and to give Ogbah a new opportunity elsewhere.
McDowell went to Michigan State not Michigan
Accidentally messed that up, thanks for the heads up.
He played with Ray Horton year 1 and Gregg Williams years 2 and 3