IRVING, Texas -- When running back Darrell Scott failed his physical, the Dallas Cowboys were forced to release him. With an open spot on the 90-man roster, the team singed TCU running back Ed Wesley on Thursday.

Wesley was available in the NFL supplemental draft but wasn't selected. He worked out for 14 teams, including the Cowboys, and he even visited the Cincinnati Bengals.

Wesley didn't have any takers until a few days ago when the Cowboys called him to inform him they would sign him if something changed on their roster.

"I got the call about two days ago," said Wesley, who measured in at 5-8 and ran a 4.6 and 4.7 in the 40-yard dash for his pro day. "I was surprised and I was happy more than anything. I was trying to calm my mom down; she was getting a little too hyped. I walk in the house after my workout and she comes running down the hallway, in her condition, scaring me, and I knew it was something good or something bad. She kinda scared me, (but when) she told me the Cowboys called I was ecstatic and all I had to do was pray and just wait for confirmation."

Wesley was humbled because of what his mother, June Gates, has had to deal with physically. Gates has rheumatoid arthritis, which attacks the joints of the body.

"She's just having a hard time out here dealing with things, and I was at TCU having a great time," said Wesley, who rushed for 726 yards last season and led the team in rushing in five of the last nine games. "So I just felt like the person who always sacrificed so much for me, I felt like I had to do the same thing."

Wesley thought some NFL team would select him in the supplemental draft but admitted he wasn't in shape. So he went to a training facility in Carrollton, Texas to work out and felt better about his chances of getting signed.

He had to wait, but things finally worked out for him.

"I'm not disappointed at all," Wesley said. "I really thought I was going to get picked up. Obviously, I wasn’t in the shape that I needed to be in at the time, but that also gave me a little time to think about how I was going about things and improve upon on what I was doing. I got in touch with the right people and got in better shape and I'm here now."