Michael

Hamlin

The Cowboys were widely expected to add competition for Ball, but it looks like he’ll just have to fend off second-year man Michael Hamlin to win the job. Ball is a converted corner that goes 6'1/188. He’d be a liability against the run.

Hamlin (no relation to Ken Hamlin) has an advantage in size and ball skills over Ball, but he lacks speed and experience after missing most of last season with a fractured wrist. Rookie Akwasi Owusu-Ansah will give both players a run for their money once he returns from a pre-draft shoulder surgery.

Hamlin has impressive size at 6'2/214, but doesn’t run (4.62 forty) like a starting-caliber NFL safety. A 43-game starter at Clemson who finished with 14 career picks, Hamlin will likely focus on special teams at this level.

The fifth-round pick injured the wrist in the third quarter while covering a kickoff. There’s a good chance that Hamlin will go on injured reserve.

The former Cowboy will provide depth with Courtney Greene expected to miss at least one game. Hamlin recorded one tackle over each of the last two seasons in Dallas.

We feel guilty for giving the pathetic website a chance at more hits, but this is the second straight day a naked Cowboy appeared on the site. It was Martellus Bennett on Tuesday. “It’s photoshopped,” Hamlin said. “If you look at my stomach and the shirt on the photo, it’s two different things. I don’t know how these photos got up there, have no idea where it came from.”

A fifth-round pick in 2009, Hamlin was expected to challenge Alan Ball for the starting free safety job this past summer. Instead, he had been bypassed by undrafted rookies, failing to dress the past two games.

Hamlin was Gerald Sensabaugh’s (shoulder) replacement at strong safety -- a role we initially guessed rookie Barry Church would fill. It appears Church is ticketed for special teams only. Sensabaugh’s status for Opening Day is in doubt, so Hamlin has a shot to open the season across from FS Alan Ball.

Hamlin suffered the injuries while making a tackle in the third quarter. He admitted to not remembering the play and having a headache, two indications that the concussion is serious.