The preseason has come to a close and NFL rosters are due to be trimmed down to 53 players on Tuesday.
This has been referred to as the “final 53” for years, but in reality, it’s just the initial 53-man roster. Players like LB Malik Jefferson, DB CJ Goodwin, and LS Trent Sieg may be part of the initial round of cuts, but there’s a good chance they return to the roster this week after a few procedural moves.
With that in mind, here is my final projection for what the initial 53-man roster will look like for the Cowboys.
QUARTERBACKS (3): Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Trey Lance
There was a chance the Cowboys kept just two quarterbacks in the initial round of cuts, but not after acquiring Trey Lance last Friday.
RUNNING BACKS (3): Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn
Malik Davis and Hunter Luepke fall short of the roster, but will be practice squad candidates, particularly with Ronald Jones on suspension, and Rico Dowdle’s injury history.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5): CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin
I wanted to find a spot for Jalen Brooks, but numbers are too tight. I think they’d like to get Brooks and Jalen Moreno-Cropper to the practice squad.
TIGHT ENDS (4): Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot, Sean McKeon
Hendershot was put on ice for the final preseason game, so he appears to be safe. McKeon is one of the handful of guys that felt truly on the bubble, but he has the trust of Dak Prescott, and contributes on special teams.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, Terence Steele, Chuma Edoga, TJ Bass, Asim Richards, Matt Waletzko
This is the most difficult position group to figure out on offense. Matt Farniok, Brock Hoffman, and Josh Ball are all in the mix. Edoga was largely unimpressive during camp, but the lack of NFL experience behind the starters makes it difficult to move on from him.
DEFENSIVE LINE (11): DeMarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams, Dante Fowler, Dorance Armstrong, Junior Fehoko, Chauncey Golston, Isaiah Land, Johnathan Hankins, Mazi Smith, Osa Odighizuwa, Neville Gallimore
This was another difficult position group to narrow down. Golston and Gallimore are two players who were on the bubble during camp.
LINEBACKERS (4): Leighton Vander Esch, Micah Parsons, Damone Clark, Devin Harper
This is an exceedingly light group, especially considering how often Parsons is used as a rusher, but a couple of the safeties will serve as hybrid linebackers, and Malik Jefferson could still return after initial cuts. The most notable cut here would be former fourth round pick Jabril Cox.
CORNERBACKS (6): Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, DaRon Bland, Jourdan Lewis, Nahshon Wright, Eric Scott Jr.
The biggest name missing from this list is Kelvin Joseph, who the Cowboys selected in the top 50 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Wright, who was selected in the third round of that same draft, is a likely IR candidate after spending a day on the roster. I can’t envision the Cowboys cutting Scott after giving up a fifth round pick for him in April.
SAFETIES (6): Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, Juanyeh Thomas, Markquese Bell, Israel Mukuamu
This is a pretty versatile group for the Cowboys. Thomas, and particularly Bell, can play down in the box as hybrid linebackers, and Mukuamu has the flexibility to play some corner as well.
SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, long snapper Trent Sieg will be back after a procedural move to balance the roster.
