Cowboys sideline exclusive: The story behind Brandon Aubrey’s interaction with Post Malone

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When practice squad cornerback Amani Oruwariye boarded the team charter Wednesday afternoon, he had no idea he would have the opportunity to cement the Cowboys’ 20-15 road win over the Giants on Thursday Night Football with an interception with five seconds remaining in the game.
He wasn’t informed until Thursday morning at the team hotel that he would be elevated to the active roster to provide depth for a Cowboys secondary playing without starting cornerback Caelen Carson (shoulder injury). Andrew Booth started the game in place of Carson but struggled in the first half, so Oruwariye was told just before the start of the third quarter that he’d be taking over for Booth.
Oruwariye is a new name for most Cowboys fans, but he’s not a newcomer to the league. In fact, in 2021 with the Lions he intercepted six passes, third most in the NFL behind Trevon Diggs (11) and J.C. Jackson (9) of the Patriots. He’s a five-year NFL veteran with 53 games of experience before signing to the Cowboys practice squad on Aug. 29.
At this point, I’m going to refer to Oruwariye by his initials A.O., which is what Will McClay and the rest of the player personnel department call Oruwariye because his last name is a tongue-twister. If you’re wondering how to pronounce it correctly, phonetically it’s oh-roo-WAR-ee-a.
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As media gathered around A.O. postgame to ask about the interception, Dak Prescott was 10 feet away at his locker when the QB interrupted the questioning to tell the media that A.O. had picked him off in the cornerback’s first practice as a Cowboy in August.
Having a veteran with A.O.’s experience to call up from the practice squad is a relatively new luxury.
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Back in 2020, the NFL expanded the practice squad from 12 to 16 because extra players were needed that season to fill gameday rosters in case teammates tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss games as they quarantined.
Not only did the league expand the practice squad to 16, it allowed up to six of those 16 players to be veterans. In other words, the practice squad was no longer limited to rookies or young first- or second-year players with little (if any) regular season experience.
Thanks to those rule changes, a veteran like A.O. can join a practice squad and learn that team’s defense. They can be ready to answer the call if elevated from the practice squad. In pre-COVID days, teams would have to sign veterans “off the street” to bring some experience and depth when injuries hit during the regular season.
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One more note on A.O.: Among current Cowboys DBs, you could argue he entered the game with the most knowledge of the Giants receivers because he signed with the Giants in 2023 and spent the first half of the season on their practice squad. He practiced head-to-head against the veteran Giants receivers every day until he was released last October and signed with the Jaguars’ practice squad. He spent this past offseason and training camp with the Jaguars until they released him Aug. 27 and the Cowboys scooped him up 48 hours later. The Jaguars’ loss was the Cowboys’ gain.
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Post Malone, Brandon Aubrey fan: How far have kickers come in the NFL? One of music’s biggest stars, Post Malone, wore a No. 17 Brandon Aubrey jersey on the sideline before the game.
Malone grew up in Grapevine as a huge Cowboys fan and his father, Rich Post, worked for 17 years at AT&T Stadium/Texas Stadium as a manager of concessions. Malone could have gone old school and rocked an Emmitt or Aikman or Irvin jersey, but instead he went new school with Aubrey.
While interviewing Malone on our Cowboys Radio pregame show, I asked about the attire. He said Aubrey had attended one of his events wearing a Post Malone T-shirt, so the superstar wanted to repay the favor. He also called for Aubrey to attempt a 71-yard FG so the kicker could emphatically break the NFL record.
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Before heading up to join the Jones family in the visiting owner’s box, Post asked Aubrey to autograph the jersey and, of course, Aubrey happily obliged. Afterward, punter Bryan Anger walked up to me to return my Sharpie (they had borrowed my pen) and joked that I should have the Sharpie framed since both Brandon and Post used it.
What’s cool about many of the celebrity interactions on the sideline is the genuine enthusiasm of these big-time stars when they are down on the field interacting with the players or watching warmups. Post has been around Cowboys events for much of his life thanks to his dad’s former job, but he still gets a thrill when he’s around the team. He’s TRUE BLUE all the way.
Here’s a suggestion, which I wish I would have said to the singer during our interview: How about incorporating “Butter” (Aubrey’s nickname) and “Brandon Aubrey” into song lyrics? That song could be played each time Aubrey nails a field goal at AT&T Stadium.
As for Malone’s wish to see a 71-yard field goal, he had to settle for Aubrey connecting from 60 yards. Ho-hum, Aubrey already had two of those on his resume. Now he’s got three, which ties him for the second-most 60-yard-plus field foals in NFL history with Matt Prater and former Cowboy Greg Zuerlein. The league’s all-time career leader with four? Ding, ding, ding. You’re a winner if you know it’s another former Cowboy: Brett Maher.
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Welcome party at team hotel: A friendly and familiar face greeted the Cowboys upon arrival at the team hotel in suburban New Jersey on Wednesday night: former Cowboys All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith. Now in his first year with the Jets, Smith was waiting on the team’s arrival and then stayed a good portion of the evening to have dinner with the offensive linemen.
Second-half injuries: The Cowboys played all but the first defensive series of the second half without DE DeMarcus Lawrence, who injured his left foot at the 9:20 mark of the third quarter. He was taken to the locker room and returned to the sideline a few minutes later. He looked as though he might return to the game. Then he went to the training table behind the bench to have his left foot re-taped. He stood on the sideline the remainder of the game, most of the time holding his helmet as though he may return to action. But he did not take a snap following the injury.
Trevon Diggs missed a portion of the fourth quarter after cramping up because of dehydration. He went immediately to the locker room for an IV and returned the next defensive series.
It was a muggy, humid evening in The Meadowlands. Temperatures were mild in the mid-70s, but there was no breeze and the air felt heavy because of rain earlier in the day. In fact, the cooling fans were being used in the bench area. I’m surprised more players didn’t experience cramps because it was so muggy. LB Marist Liufau also briefly cramped in the third quarter but returned quickly to the game.
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Micah Parsons’ left ankle injury with 3:30 remaining in the fourth quarter meant the Cowboys hit the trifecta in the second half for injuries to Pro Bowl players on defense. Parsons was helped to the sideline where he immediately went to the blue medical tent for evaluation. After a few minutes in the tent, a cart was called to transport him up the tunnel. He put little weight on the left ankle as he needed help to cover the 10 feet between the tent and the cart. After clearing the locker room, he got a ride on a golf cart instead of walking the long trek to the team buses.
Coach Mike McCarthy will provide an update on Parsons’ injury during a conference call with media on Friday afternoon. Parsons and Lawrence are both slated for MRI exams Friday.
The Giants were without the new superstar rookie WR Malik Nabers for their final series. He suffered a concussion on a fourth-down incompletion with 3:21 left in the game and with the Giants trying to rally from a five-point deficit.
More reps for Overshown: For the second consecutive game, when the Cowboys opened in their 4-3 “base” defense, the three linebackers were Eric Kendricks, Liufau and DeMarvion Overshown. In Weeks 1 and 2, the “base” included Damone Clark instead of Overshown, with Overshown playing mostly in “nickel” (4 DL, 2 LB, 5 DB). Last week vs. Baltimore, Overshown played “base” in the first half with Clark playing most of the second half. At the time I thought it could have been because Overshown was sometimes ‘spying’ Lamar Jackson. But against the Giants it was Overshown instead of Clark in “base,” so it looks like Overshown has elbowed Clark out of playing time.
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Changes in kick return: In the first three games, opposing kickers aimed their kickoffs at Juanyeh Thomas instead of KaVontae Turpin. Thomas (6) had three times more returns as Turpin (2). Special teams coordinator John Fassel had his two kickoff returners do something different against the Giants.
Rather than Turpin at the goal line on the left side of the field and Thomas at the goal line on the right side, Thomas and Turpin “stacked” one behind the other in the middle of the field at the 5-yard line and goal line, respectively. With them “stacked” behind each other, the kicker would not be able to aim the ball away from Turpin, who Giants coach Brian Daboll earlier in the week called “the best returner” in the league.
What was the result of the “stack?” Six touchbacks on six Giants’ kickoffs. Kicker Greg Joseph just banged the football out of the back of the end zone.
Kristi Scales is the sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. She writes this column for The Dallas Morning News after each Cowboys game.
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