All the consternation and hand-wringing about Michael Sam not having an NFL home is over.

Sam, who made three sacks in preseason play as a seventh-round draft pick, fell behind a logjam in St. Louis, as the Rams kept 10 defensive linemen and may have the deepest collection of defensive ends in the league. (St. Louis also stated publicly that it did not sign Sam to its practice squad because they preferred to use the squad as additional depth for shallower positions.)

But the Dallas Cowboys added Sam to their practice squad Wednesday after he completed a physical.

Sam was attending the Missouri-South Dakota State game last Saturday when news broke that he didn’t make the 53-man roster in St. Louis. Coach Gary Pinkel, asked about Sam after the game, had nice things to say about the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, but took a wide berth to the “does he or does he not belong in the NFL” question.

Sam met face-to-face with Rams coach Jeff Fisher on Sunday, but as teams filled their practice squads, it appeared that Sam’s NFL career may already have ended. A topical bonanza for sports talk shows, it also led to some hard-hitting analysis.

 

Sam, the first openly-gay player in the NFL and a fringe candidate to make an NFL roster, has attracted all sorts of media attention. That’s considered an unnecessary headache for many teams for a borderline player.

But the Cowboys aren’t a shy organization.

“We feel like he has a chance to come in at a position we’ve tried to address throughout the offseason, throughout training camp and compete for a spot,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday after Sam practiced with the team, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“The way we review the practice roster first and foremost their job is it help facilitate practice. But it’s also a great opportunity for us to develop personnel and evaluate personnel. … We’re bringing in a player we want to see on the practice field. … We have heard good reports about him. … We just want to bring him in and see if he can help out the football team.”

Each team is allowed to keep 10 practice squad players, which practice with the team, but can’t play in games. They make $6,300 per week, or $107,100 before taxes during the course of a 17-week season.

It’s bittersweet for Missouri fans, who didn’t have to travel far to watch Sam and standout cornerback E.J. Gaines when both played for the Rams. (Gaines remains on the St. Louis roster for Week 1.) Of note, Gaines, Kony Ealy and Justin Britt are the only players from last season’s No. 5-ranked Missouri team currently on an NFL roster.

A total of 19 former Missouri players are on NFL rosters entering opening weekend:

C Tim Barnes, St. Louis Rams
C Beau Brinkley, Tennessee Titans
OT Justin Britt, Tennessee Titans
QB Chase Daniel, Kansas City Chiefs
DE Kony Ealy, Carolina Panthers
QB Blaine Gabbert, San Francisco 49ers
LB Andrew Gachkar, San Diego Chargers
CB E.J. Gaines, St. Louis Rams
LB Zaviar Gooden, Tennessee Titans
DE Ziggy Hood, Jacksonville Jaguars
WR Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles
SS William Moore, Atlanta Falcons
DT C.J. Mosley, Detroit Lions
DE Sheldon Richardson, New York Jets
DE Justin Smith, San Francisco 49ers
WR Brad Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
LB Aldon Smith, San Francisco 49ers
DE Jacquies Smith, Buffalo Bills
LB Sean Weatherspoon, Atlanta Falcons