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By Jon Machota Aug 31, 2021
Several moves will be made in the upcoming days, but the Dallas Cowboys have an initial 53-man roster. The team made 28 moves before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. CT deadline.
The most notable is that they decided to go with Cooper Rush as the backup quarterback. Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci were released. And although it’s reasonable to wonder if they are set at the position considering the other quarterbacks who were released Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it clear that it’s going to be difficult for another QB to beat out Rush for the backup job, a position he held for part of the 2017 season and all of 2018 and 2019.
“I think that you got to assume with (Rush’s) knowledge of what we’re doing offensively,” Jones said Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan, “what we’re doing with the existing personnel that we’re going to be opening with, you got to assume you got a pretty high bar here, in terms of what’s the most effective way to play if you didn’t have Dak (Prescott) now.
“And all of that said, it’s a high bar when you got the background in it that Cooper’s got. So we’ll see how that goes.”
Here’s the Cowboys’ initial 53-man roster.
Quarterbacks (2): Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush.
Running backs (2): Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard.
Wide receivers (5): Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, Cedrick Wilson, Malik Turner, Simi Fehoko.
Tight ends (3): Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz, Sean McKeon.
Offensive linemen (10): LT Tyron Smith, RG Zack Martin, RT La’el Collins, C Tyler Biadasz, OT Ty Nsekhe, OG Connor McGovern, OT Terence Steele, OT Josh Ball, OT Matt Farniok, OT/OG Brandon Knight.
Defensive linemen (11): DE DeMarcus Lawrence, DE Randy Gregory, DT Neville Gallimore, DT Osa Odighizuwa, DT/DE Brent Urban, DE Dorance Armstrong, DE Tarell Basham, DT Quinton Bohanna, DE Chauncey Golston, DE Azur Kamara, DE Bradlee Anae.
Linebackers (7): Micah Parsons, Keanu Neal, Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, Jabril Cox, Luke Gifford, Francis Bernard.
Cornerbacks (7): Trevon Diggs, Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Kelvin Joseph, Maurice Canady, Nahshon Wright, C.J. Goodwin.
Safeties (4): Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, Jayron Kearse, Israel Mukuamu.
Special teams (2): K Greg Zuerlein, P Bryan Anger
Now let’s handle some key players who aren’t mentioned above, starting with WR CeeDee Lamb, WR Noah Brown, S Damontae Kazee, G/C Connor Williams and DT Carlos Watkins. All five are currently on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list. When they return, roster spots will have to be cleared to make room for them. Brown was added Tuesday. We don’t know when he’ll be cleared. The other four are expected to be back by Thursday, coach Mike McCarthy said Sunday afternoon.
What happened to long snapper Jake McQuaide? He’s still expected to be the team’s long snapper in Week 1. But because he’s considered a vested veteran, a team can include him as part of its cuts, then add him back to the roster without his being claimed by another team. The Cowboys executed a similar move last year with Goodwin.
The most surprising names remaining on the roster: Turner, Fehoko, Kamara, Anae and Bernard. Start there when thinking who might be moved to make room for players returning from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Some injured-reserve moves are expected. Players need to be on the initial 53 before being placed on injured reserve so they can return later in the season. If placed on IR before Tuesday, a player would be done for the season. Some IR candidates include Gallimore (elbow), McKeon (ankle), Ball (ankle), Bernard (hamstring) and Joseph (groin). If placed on the IR now, those players would be out at least the first three games.
The most surprising names to be released: Gilbert, safety Darian Thompson and tight end Jeremy Sprinkle. None is a huge surprise, but Gilbert started a game last season, Thompson has been one of the team’s most consistent special-teams players, and Sprinkle, who was signed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal in April, looked to be the No. 3 tight end after McKeon suffered an injury to his right ankle in the second preseason game.
So what positions could be addressed outside of the roster over the next few days? Keep an eye on running back and tight end. With Rico Dowdle out for the season, the Cowboys need a third back who can help on special teams. They also need a No. 3 tight end with McKeon unlikely to be available to start the season. With Gallimore likely out at least the first month of the season, defensive tackle seems like a good place to add a player, but the team’s owner and general manager apparently doesn’t feel the same way.
Some notable running backs released by other teams Tuesday: Darwin Thompson played in 26 games over the past two seasons for the Chiefs, with 230 snaps coming on special teams. Jaylen Samuels had 394 special-teams snaps over the past three years for the Steelers after being a fifth-round pick in 2018. Peyton Barber played 30 percent of Washington’s special-teams snaps last season while also rushing for four touchdowns, and Darius Jackson was a sixth-round pick by the Cowboys in 2016.
Some notable tight ends released by other teams: Bronson Kaufusi, who was a third-round pick in 2016. Jacob Hollister had 66 catches and six touchdowns over the past two seasons in Seattle. Ryan Izzo started 12 games for the Patriots last year. Thaddeus Moss is the son of Randy Moss. And Codey McElroy and Cole Hikutini are former Cowboys.
During Jones’ weekly radio appearance Tuesday morning, he shared his thoughts on defensive tackle, an update on where Prescott stands with his shoulder strain and how he ranks the team’s linebackers. Here are the highlights.
Where things stand with Prescott: “I think very encouraging, from my viewpoint. He’s moving good. He’s really got that zip on the ball. We know that he’s been throwing with his key receivers for a few days out there the last few practices. Frankly, as far as him being able to execute and execute the throws and move around the way he should against Tampa, I don’t have any concern at all about that. And I know he’s mentally ready to go. That’s truly one of his real attributes is his ability to take the study, take the game plan, and execute it in the game.”
Who is atop the team’s linebacker depth chart: “I’d say your starters there and that has different ways to view it, but your starters are certainly Neal, Parsons, Vander Esch, Smith. Those are the guys that have given us our best look in anticipating what we’re going to be doing defensively.”
How he feels about defensive tackle and if that’s the first place where the Cowboys need to make an addition: “No, it wouldn’t be. Frankly, not defensive about it, to use the term on defense, but we really like the way our young guys have stepped up. We’ve got a lot of help on the way. We’ve got guys that will be available to us as we get on into the season. Frankly, I think those interior guys on the defensive front are a strength for us.”
