The team retained three quarterbacks and kept standout rookie Camden Brown while trimming veterans ahead of the league’s deadline.
Training camp and the preseason have come to an end and the Dallas Cowboys had until 5 p.m. Sunday to cut their roster down and name an initial 53-man roster. Several questions remained about spots on the Dallas roster, especially in the wide receiver room with UDFA Camden Brown emerging as a roster candidate. Who will be the Cowboys’ backup quarterback behind Dak Prescott? How did the late addition of Von Miller impact the cuts along the defensive line? We got answers to those questions Sunday when the Cowboys put together their initial 53-man roster. It’s important to note it is only the initial 53-man roster, as teams also have an opportunity to make waiver claims by Monday at 12 p.m.
Quarterback Depth Decisions and Roster Adjustments
The Dallas Cowboys faced a pressing late-summer question regarding who would back up Dak Prescott, ultimately resolving the dilemma by keeping three quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster. Before the final preseason game, the room featured only Prescott and Milton, but Howell’s performance forced a reassessment.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer noted that the battle for the backup role was exceptionally close.
Milton sustained the stronger overall training camp and opening two preseason outings, whereas Howell delivered a sharper performance in the final preseason matchup. Before Friday night’s preseason finale, it was only Prescott and Milton, but Howell did enough to make me think the Cowboys will now go with three, while Schottenheimer described the backup job as neck and neck.
Weighing Roster Moves and Star-Studded Skill Positions
Beyond the quarterback room, Dallas curated what is arguably the deepest wide receiver room in the NFL, anchored by CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Ryan Flournoy alongside KaVontae Turpin, Jonathan Mingo, and rookie UDFA Camden Brown. Mingo and Brown played well enough to force their inclusion on the squad despite the team initially preferring a leaner five-man group at the position. Jonathan Mingo was another notable player not wearing pads Friday, usually a sign the player has already made the roster, alongside Luke Schoonmaker who was one of the 34 players not wearing pads.
Lamb, Pickens, and Flournoy enter the campaign with a legitimate chance to replicate a rare statistical milestone. the first trio of wide receivers to all go over 1,000 yards since Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston accomplished the feat with the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, a squad that advanced to the Super Bowl.
Front Office Focus and Roster Fine-Tuning
While the franchise has remained relatively quiet on the trade market outside of securing veteran edge rusher Von Miller during camp, leadership signaled that roster evaluations remain fluid. Jones acknowledged the ongoing assessment of talent across the league as we look at our roster, look at all the other rosters.
Right now, everybody around the league, the other 31 teams are seeing if they can improve it. We’ll be looking at that very, very aggressively.
Schottenheimer emphasized that the coaching staff’s immediate priority centered on the players currently in the building before personnel scouts expanded their search. Teams face an upcoming window to claim waived players off waivers by noon on Monday, offering the Cowboys another mechanism to refine their depth chart ahead of opening day. As the roster cuts become available on Sunday, it’s important to remember the Cowboys will have an excellent chance of getting most of the players they want back on their practice squad, given that over the last five years, only four players the Cowboys have cut have been claimed by another team the following day: OLB Isaiah Land in 2023, CB Eric Scott and S Julius Wood in 2024, and OLB Tyrus Wheat last year.
