FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen said Thursday that Ameer Speed won a gunner job by stringing together “a few really good weeks” in practice, three days before Dallas opens the season against the New York Giants.
Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is Sunday at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC. Speed signed with the Cowboys on June 18 out of the UFL, where he had 20 tackles in five games with the Houston Gamblers. He made the initial 53-man roster as a cornerback.
The Cowboys graded and scored competitive special teams periods in practice this summer, and Sorensen said the two joint practices were part of the evaluation.
“He was productive,” Sorensen said. “He just kept winning. Whether it was in the vice on punt return or even getting his blocks on kick return, and then every time that, you don’t get that many opportunities in a game, so you evaluate practice. And we had a lot of competitive periods in practice that we would grade and score and put guys in those positions, but we also had the two joint practices, and he just strung together like a few really good weeks of being productive.
“And he’s got size, speed, length, and he just kept winning, and he did a really nice job,” Sorensen continued.
The New England Patriots drafted Speed in the sixth round in 2023, 214th overall, out of Michigan State. He also spent five seasons at Georgia and was part of its 2021 national championship team. Before Dallas, he was with New England, the Indianapolis Colts, the Chicago Bears, the Cleveland Browns, and the Houston Texans. In 17 NFL games, he has 11 tackles, and 280 of his 295 snaps have come on special teams, Dallas Cowboys On SI reported. He is 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds.
Ameer Speed Won a Gunner Spot After C.J. Goodwin Retired
One of the main spots to fill coming out of last season was gunner, because C.J. Goodwin was gone, Sorensen said. Goodwin, a Cowboys special teams player since 2018 and one of their captains in 2025, announced his retirement June 28.
“Well, I think the roster decision, it changed because you’re going to lose guys and then now there’s spots to fill,” Sorensen explained. “One of the main ones coming out of last season was C.J. being gone, too. So like that gunner spot was a big one that, hey, we’re very honest. It’s open competition. Even though Alijah had done it in the past and Flo had done it in the past, we’re saying, hey, these are two spots that are up.
“So like I said, we had as many competitive chances as we could to where these guys can showcase on both sides of it, whether it’s the vice or at gunner,” Sorensen added.
Receiver Ryan Flournoy has also played gunner, but he can only be used so much there, Sorensen said, the same idea as with tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford. Flournoy caught 40 passes for 475 yards last season.
Nick Sorensen on Jonathan Mingo and Other Cowboys Special Teams Risers
Speed was one of several players who emerged for the unit this summer, according to Sorensen. Receiver Jonathan Mingo took a big step as a cover player and punt returner.
“He was definitely one of them,” Sorensen said. “I think Mingo took a big step. Alijah Clark carried over from last year. I think going from year one to year two, he stepped in and did a really nice job last year as an undrafted guy when he got his opportunity. And then just guys improving like Shemar, there’s always that big jump that you want to see from the rookie year to the second year and that you should see. And I think all those guys like Shemar, Alijah, from year one to year two, have improved.
“Brevyn’s always consistent, Hunter, Markquese, all those guys have been great,” Sorensen detailed. “And PJ Locke stepping in, I know he does some stuff on defense, too, but as a special teams guy, he’s got a lot of history there. And then, like you said, Speed coming in and producing like he has. I think Mingo took, like I said at the beginning, Mingo took a big step in how we knew he could block really good, but just seeing how he can cover, and he fields punts really nice. So he’s a good guy to have back there, too, as a depth guy.”
Dallas acquired Mingo from the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 5, 2024, sending a 2025 fourth-round pick for Mingo and a 2025 seventh-rounder, according to Pro Football Reference. Carolina drafted him in the second round out of Ole Miss in 2023.
Safety Alijah Clark signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse in 2025. The Cowboys moved him from the practice squad to the active roster Oct. 4, and he played in 11 games with 18 tackles and a forced fumble. Linebacker Shemar James, a 2025 fifth-round pick out of Florida, had 91 tackles in 14 games as a rookie.
