The Dallas Cowboys have some new faces in town at training camp after making several interesting roster moves during the offseason. One of them is former first-round cornerback Kaiir Elam, who was picked up in a trade with the Buffalo Bills after he endured some pretty significant struggles to begin his career.
Training camp may be only a few days old, but Elam already caught attention when he decided to celebrate with a baby in the stands after intercepting a pass during one of the Cowboys’ drills. After the play, Elam explained his hilarious decision, as he continues to stand out for Dallas early in their training camp work.
Kaiir Elam Dishes on Hilarious Celebration
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The Bills selected Elam with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he never managed to find his footing with the team over his first three seasons in the league. After getting picked on repeatedly by Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 AFC Championship Game, Buffalo opted to cut bait and trade him and a 2025 sixth-round pick to Dallas in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick.
The Cowboys have enough cornerback depth at their disposal to take a chance on Elam and see if he can discover his potential. Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland are both former All-Pro players who will start when they are healthy, with Israel Mukuamu and 2025 third-round rookie Shavon Revel Jr. also factoring into the mix.
With Diggs, Bland, and Revel all being injured for the time being, though, Elam has gotten some extended run to begin training camp. After intercepting a pass on Saturday, Elam found a baby in the stands and lifted him up into the air, imitating a scene from the movie “The Lion King.” When asked about the celebration, Elam simply said he’s looking to show the fans in attendance what he’s capable of on the field, while also giving them a good time in the process.
“I’m just excited, man,” Elam said, per Calvin Watkins of “The Dallas Morning News.” “I’m just trying to give the people a show. What they paid to come see, that’s all … It’s a blessing, it’s a privilege to be a Cowboy, I’m grateful. Last year, I was inactive a lot of games, my hunger for football grew and grew and grew and just learn and grow from it.”
Kaiir Elam Hoping to Carve Out Roster Spot with Cowboys
Elam struggled when he took the field for the Bills in 2024, as he allowed a passer rating of 104.9 on throws where he was the closest defender in coverage. However, he still has great physical traits, and if he can put the pieces of the puzzle together, he could find a role for himself on defense for the Cowboys in his first season with the team.
As several key options remain sidelined with various injury woes, it’s going to be important for Elam to continue producing when he’s on the field during training camp. So far, he’s made quite an impact, but in order for him to find his way onto the roster, he’s going to have to continue to prove to the Cowboys and their fans that he can become the star that the Bills thought he was going to be when they drafted him back in 2022.
