This is part three of an occasional series, musing on what the Dallas Cowboys would look like had they kept a player who ended up playing out his career elsewhere. Unless I specifically make the argument, it's not meant to be a second-guess of the decision to let the player go - just a big "what if?" How else can I fill the off-season? (See Part 1, Part 2)

With the advent of the salary cap, teams like the Cowboys, with a deep, talented roster, simply had to let some very good players go. But, in keeping with the theme of this series, you still have to wonder how things might have different if they’d have stayed.

In the seventh round of the 1993 draft, the Cowboys picked safety Brock Marion out of Nevada-Reno. He spent his first two seasons in a back-up role, with some duties in special packages, and became a starter in the 1995 season. As fans remember, one of that year’s lowlights was the loss of starting cornerback Kevin Smith in the season opener. Although Deion Sanders would join the team in week six, there is no doubt that the injury put more pressure on the secondary. Marion responded, with 64 tackles, six interceptions and a touchdown as the Cowboys went on to win Super Bowl 30 over the Pittsburgh Steelers. After an injury-riddled 1996, which left him sidelined for much of the season, Marion registered a career high 100 tackles in the Cowboys 1997 season.

In 1998, Marion left for Miami in free agency, and was replaced first by Omar Stoutmire, then by George Teague, and finally, in 2002, by Roy Williams. None of those players picked up the occasional kick return duties that Marion had, but Miami coaches must have noticed his stellar 31.1 average in spot duty in 1997, because in 1999, he became the Dolphins primary kick returner, leading the league with a 24.5 yard average on 62 kicks. Over the remainder of his career, he would intercept 23 passes, scoring two defensive touchdowns and appearing in three Pro Bowls. He was a key player for a Miami Dolphins defense that was ranked in the top ten every year he played (top five in four of the six years.)

Only hindsight can tell us that keeping Brock Marion may have been the smart thing to do; expensive as he may have been, he was able to play a role in Miami that took a succession of at least five players to fill in Dallas, if you consider both free safety and kick returner. As it is, his career is just another reminder of the incredible amount of talent those early 1990s Cowboys had on the field, and even on the bench.