FRISCO, Texas — Ryan Flournoy hasn’t taken a single snap since the Dallas Cowboys completed a preseason takedown of the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 24, a contest in which he had three catches, 30 yards and a touchdown on three targets.
He finished the preseason with a total of seven catches, 53 yards and two touchdowns over the last two preseason games alone, and that was more than enough, combined with a very impressive training camp in Oxnard, to secure his spot on the 53-man roster.
But then came the next challenge: making his NFL debut.
Flournoy has been relegated to the inactive list for all four games to start the season, but the right knee injury to Brandin Cooks ensures that the rookie sixth-round pick will finally see action when the Cowboys take the field in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He won’t officially know that’s the case until Sunday, but he stands by it, to say the least.
“I’m excited to show you all,” Flournoy said of his impending debut. “He’s here… *taps heart*. He’s here. You’ll all see.”
This aligns perfectly with his previous statement that “passion is my superpower.”
For his part, head coach Mike McCarthy believes the first-year receiver is ready.
“Flo is definitely ready,” he said before Wednesday’s training. “He’s been competing every week to move up. He’ll definitely have more opportunities.”
Hoping to bring in the teachings he was receiving from Cox to help carry him forward, and on short notice, to the Cowboys in October, Flournoy described some of the lessons the veteran absorbed.
“I just respect the game, the game of football,” he said. “You win and you lose but the next game, you respect that again by going out and playing your best. Brandin Cooks is an amazing football player, and an even more amazing person. What he’s taught me over the last few months is, ‘I’ve been here, man,’ I feel like I can play 11 years in the league just like him [is]”.
That would blend perfectly with Flournoy’s goals entering the league.
One of Jerry Rice’s biggest fans, he revealed after he was selected by Dallas in April, is largely because Rice had humble beginnings in a small college program before taking the NFL by storm and becoming the best receiver of all time. Flournoy still feels Rice’s imprint in everything he does on the field.
He even features himself in the rookie’s jersey number.
“Oh yeah,” he said when asked about the Hall of Fame wide receiver. “Speaking of Jerry Rice, I’m 80 years old, and he was No. 80. And that’s a big position to fill, but Jerry Rice is so dominant as a player and as a Hall of Famer, man, I want to do that. And he came from a small school like I did.”
Rice hails from Mississippi Valley State University, and Flournoy landed with the Cowboys by way of Southeast Missouri State — rising to those ranks from Central Missouri and through Western Iowa Community College.
“I want to inspire people who come from small schools [to show] “You can do it too,” Flournoy said of being a testimony to others. “So my goal is to be the next Jerry Rice, or to be the only Ryan Flournoy — to be a Hall of Famer and be 15, 20 years old or older, and just respect the game, man. So yeah, sir.”
His ability and uncanny athleticism have led him to this point, and will likely take him much further, but only if he can also continue to channel his nerves the right way.
The opening game of the pre-season was characterized by a sharp decline and confusion caused by those nerves, and by his own admission, he was striving to do too much because he is from a small school.
“I learned from the first pre-season match, as you can all see,” the 24-year-old said. “I dropped a pass and fumbled, and it was because my emotions were high; I wanted to prove that and not that [simply] He plays. I was trying to prove it [too much] Like, “I’m a young school boy, and I have a lot to prove.”
“But Brandin Cooks and Dak [Prescott] He told me after that game to go out and play football, and you can all watch the next two games. I felt like I had the ball, I wasn’t there just doing stuff. “I was there playing football and playing freely.”
After five weeks of inactivity, those nerve management will be tested again in his NFL debut, as will his ability against one of the NFL’s most capable defenses.
Flournoy has been constantly picking the brains of Cooks, CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks — in fact every other receiver in the room — after every rep to try to continue his ascension to not only where he finds himself now, but more importantly, to where he wants to be when his career is… It’s said and done.
“After each route, I ask CeeDee, ‘What would you do there?’… I ask Brandyn, ‘What’s your daily routine?’” He will help me, they will help me, everyone has been giving me nuggets, and I am happy to be in this drawing room.
There’s a strong chance the Cowboys will soon be rewarded for adding him to it.
At this point, just use Flo.
