Josh Brent retiring is not the surprising part of this story. Josh Brent still having a roster spot on the Dallas Cowboys is the surprising part! Brent is currently awaiting trial for vehicular manslaughter after crashing his car and killing teammate Jerry Brown Jr. Brent was drunk at the time of the crash. The Cowboys chose to stand behind their player and did not cut him from the team.
Brent has helped the Cowboys by clearing the roster spot that he was occupying. Brent’s official reasoning for retiring is to focus on off the field issues. It is unclear why Dallas never cut Brent in the first place as his football career is basically over and he is just a waste of a roster spot at this point. However, the Cowboys came under fire for allowing Brent to be on the sidelines during a game two weeks after the crash. After facing immediate backlash, the NFL decided to ban Brent from being on the sideline. According to Cowboys officials, they were just following Jerry Brown’s mother’s wishes. The Cowboys caught quite a break with Brent’s decision as now they will be able to keep an extra player on the roster. Brent’s trial is set for September.
