Dallas Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Turpin was named to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday in his first NFL season. But for a moment, he thought that he was getting released in a rare interaction with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Turpin was called on the phone by Jones, where the long-time Cowboys owner broke the news that he had been named to the Pro Bowl for the NFC.
The rookie returner detailed that he feared that he was being cut due to a muffed punt return in the Cowboys’ previous game.
“Most people don’t get calls from the owner,” Turpin said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The first thing that came to my mind was I got cut.”
“I was tearing up,” Turpin (seen above in an Oct. 23 game) added. “They were coming down, but he probably couldn’t tell in my voice because I was still trying to be professional with it. That was basically my first time talking to him on the phone, so I didn’t know what to expect from him. It’s Jerry Jones. You’ve got to be professional when you’re talking with the owner of the team.”
It is certainly understandable that Turpin feared for his NFL career, especially when you consider his difficult path to the league.
Turpin came to the Cowboys as a standout in the USFL after previously going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft.
That designation comes with very little job security. But luckily he was surprised with the great honor of being named a Pro Bowler rather than losing his job with the Cowboys.
[Dallas Morning News; photo from Tim Heitman/USA Today Sports]
