Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent has been placed on reserved/non-football illness list Wednesday, freeing up his roster spot.
Brent is not suspended, meaning he is allowed at the Cowboys’ team facility, something coach Jason Garrett said is an important aspect of this situation.
“Josh is part of our family. We have unconditional love for him,” Garrett said. “And we’re going to make sure that we support him in every way we can. Players, coaches, our organization, and make him feel that support every way … having him be here, and knowing that people are around him to help him and he can call us, he can just be around us, he can cry, he can laugh -- he can do whatever he needs to do -- and we’ll be there to help him.”
Brent was arrested Saturday morning and faces charges of intoxicated manslaughter as the driver in a one-car accident that killed teammate and best friend Jerry Brown, who was on the Cowboys’ practice squad. Brent was one of many teammates in attendance for Brown’s funeral service Tuesday in Dallas.
The Cowboys used the roster spot to sign three-year veteran Brian Schaefering, a defensive lineman with experience in Rob Ryan’s scheme. Schaefering spent the past three years in Cleveland, including his first two under Ryan, the Browns’ defensive coordinator who holds the same title now in Dallas.
Schaefering played in all 16 games for Cleveland in 2010 and 2011 but was not with the Browns this season. He becomes the fifth player the Cowboys have signed this season who had not been on a roster this year, along with Brady Poppinga, Ernie Sims, Charlie Peprah and Eric Frampton.
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