MacMahon: Vol. IV - 53-man roster projection

[Cotton]

Vol. IV: 53-man roster projection

August, 12, 2013

By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com


OXNARD, Calif. -- There are a couple of tweaks, marked by asterisks, in the fourth edition of our 53-man roster projection.

QUARTERBACKS (2)
Tony Romo
Kyle Orton
There is a close to zero-percent chance that the Cowboys keep three quarterbacks.

RUNNING BACKS (4)
DeMarco Murray
Lance Dunbar
Phillip Tanner
Joseph Randle
If the Cowboys decide to keep three running backs, Tanner is likely the odd man out. But he’s running well and is the best special teams player of the bunch.

TIGHT ENDS (4)
Jason Witten
Gavin Escobar
James Hanna
Dante Rosario
Blocking beast Andre Smith was included in last week’s projection, but he’s cooled off after a strong start to camp. And the Cowboys have too many other needs to keep a fifth tight end.

WIDE RECEIVERS (5)
Dez Bryant
Miles Austin
Terrance Williams
Dwayne Harris
Cole Beasley
You can make a strong case for Anthony Armstrong deserving a roster spot. It’s just hard to make room for him, which would require the Cowboys to keep six receivers.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9)
Tyron Smith
Ronald Leary
Travis Frederick
*Brian Waters
Doug Free
Mackenzy Bernadeau
Jermey Parnell
Phil Costa
Nate Livings
The big question is whether Waters will sign. That isn’t likely to be resolved before the Cowboys break camp. If Waters is on the team, why keep Livings? Livings, who has lost his starting spot at left guard to Leary, will count $2.4 million against the cap whether or not he’s on the roster. And he’s better than David Arkin.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (9)
DeMarcus Ware
Jay Ratliff
Jason Hatcher
Anthony Spencer
Sean Lissemore
Kyle Wilber
Ben Bass
Nick Hayden
George Selvie
Selvie, the Hall of Fame Game star, needs to keep performing well to convince the Cowboys to keep a ninth defensive lineman instead of, say, a sixth receiver or 10th offensive lineman.

LINEBACKERS (7)
Bruce Carter
Sean Lee
Justin Durant
*Ernie Sims
Alex Albright
DeVonte Holloman
Brandon Magee
I’ve been slow to put Sims on the roster, but he’s been the best of the backups. He’s challenging Durant for a starting job on the strong side, although Sims hit a snag by straining his groin Sunday.

CORNERBACKS (5)
Brandon Carr
Morris Claiborne
Orlando Scandrick
Sterling Moore
B.W. Webb
Webb has had a woeful camp and certainly struggled in Oakland, but the Cowboys aren’t going to cut a fourth-round pick who was the No. 47 player on their draft board.

SAFETIES (5)
Barry Church
Will Allen
J.J. Wilcox
Danny McCray
Matt Johnson
With Johnson hurt again, it’s awfully tempting to put Eric Frampton in his place. Frampton is also a better safety with a smaller salary than McCray. Does McCray’s special teams prowess save his roster spot? How long will the Cowboys continue being patient with the injury-prone Johnson?

SPECIALISTS (3)
Dan Bailey
Chris Jones
L.P. Ladouceur
Go ahead and put these in ink.

 

[Genghis Khan]

McCray on the roster over Frampton would be retarded.

 

[Cujo]

McCray on the roster over Frampton would be retarded.

So would Matt Johnson. Also, I would go ahead and shitcan Beasley for Armstrong.

 

[L.T. Fan]

So would Matt Johnson. Also, I would go ahead and shitcan Beasley for Armstrong.

I think Beasley can still be valuable to the club despite his miniscule size.

 

[Lotuseater]

I think Beasley can still be valuable to the club despite his miniscule size.

Maybe, but keeping him over Armstrong would be retarded. Armstrong has looked much better in my opinion. And Armstrong is tall enough to ride all the rides.

 

[Genghis Khan]

So would Matt Johnson. Also, I would go ahead and shitcan Beasley for Armstrong.

You could at least make the argument that Johnson has potential. I doubt he'll ever reach it, but there's at least a little but of justification for keeping Johnson. Plus Johnson is at least cheap.

McCray on the hand sucks, will never be anything better at this point, and is way overpaid.

I'm torn on that last WR spot. I don't like Beasley a whole lot, and Armstrong is definitely better. But I'd prefer a younger guy for the last spot. Not sure any young guy on the roster is worth it though. Maybe Green, at least he has speed.

Beasley does have a knack for getting open, but he's a limited player and if he's the guy we saw last year he's not nearly good enough. Plus he's useless on special teams.

Danny Coale looks like he doesnt belong.

Armstrong is ok and he can play special teams. All things equal he probably earned the spot. I just hate that he's 30.