The Dallas Cowboys wanted veteran wide receiver Deonte Thompson back after all. Thompson was among the roster cut casualties last Saturday, but just when most fans thought he’d have to find work somewhere else in the league, the Cowboys circled around and inked the 29-year-old wideout to a new one-year deal worth $1 million, according to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.

Thompson, who signed a one-year deal that included a $1 million signing bonus in the offseason, joins Terrance Williams, Allen Hurns, Michael Gallup, Cole Beasley and Tavon Austin in the receivers room. Austin will split his time between running back and receiver.

Thompson wasn’t going anywhere during his brief time in the unemployed line, as there was a prior agreement between him and the Cowboys that the team was going to re-sign him. Dallas had to go through this route because it didn’t want to release injured wide receiver Noah Brown and put him at risk of getting claimed by another team, per Brandon George of SportsDay.

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The reason the Cowboys kept Brown initially on the 53-man roster instead of Thompson came down to waivers. If the Cowboys would have released Brown, he would have been exposed to waivers and any team could have claimed him. Thompson is a vested veteran and doesn't go through the waivers process, therefore he was free to sign with any team.

Brown has been placed on injured reserve.

So far in his NFL career, Thompson has recorded 1,032 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 53 games. He played for the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, and Chicago Bears before partnering with the Cowboys.