Cowboys News: Initial roster set, several moves to come on Wednesday
The Dallas Cowboys have finalized their initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season. There were a handful of surprises, enough to go around, and things aren’t done. On Tuesday, every team in the league had to get down to the roster limit, and as soon as that was completed, Phase 2 began. Teams will analyze the waiver wires and make claims to bring in young players who they are taking a risk on being better than what they have seen over the last several months of practice.
Trusting a scouting staff’s prior evaluation over their coaching staff’s lived experience is not something that often happens. Meanwhile, teams are going to be shuffling their own players to returnable-IR, and the Cowboys have a couple of those guys as well. It will open the door for released veterans who couldn’t be claimed to make their way back to Dallas and that’s all before 16-man practice squads are filled out from your cuts and other team’s. No wonder there’s a whole other week to go before the regular season kicks off! Here are you latest News and Notes.
Cowboys initial 53-man roster for 2023 is all set :: Cowboys Wire
Get up close and personal with the initial group of players Dallas has retained.
Cowboys 2023 roster cut and trade tracker
Dallas parted ways with 38 players on Monday and Tuesday. Here’s the complete list of who was trimmed and under what circumstances.
Cowboys Roster Moves
Associated with the roster trim down, Dallas made a trade of second-round pick Kelvin Joseph, bringing in a first-round cornerback. They also activated a player off PUP just in time to play in the regular season and they plan on moving Matt Waletzko and cornerback Nahshon Wright to returnable IR.
Cowboys give up on Kelvin Joseph, swap 2021 pick for Dolphins’ Igbinoghene
Report: Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis to be activated from PUP, placed on 53-man roster
CB Nahshon Wright (high ankle) and OT Matt Waletzko (shoulder) will go on injured reserve/designated to return on Wednesday after spending a day on the active roster. They will miss at least four games. LS Trent Sieg, OL Chuma Edoga expected to sign back.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 29, 2023
Cowboys roster cuts: Dallas made some interesting decisions in the secondary :: Blogging The Boys
Joey Ickes dives into the Week 1 problem Dallas faces where, despite having seven corners on the initial 53, things will be short handed to face the Giants.
This is what’s difficult about the way the Cowboys have gone about the secondary. By choosing not to use the PUP mechanism for Lewis, trading Kelvin Joseph for another corner, and the fact that Eric Scott Jr. has not looked like a player ready to play meaningful NFL snaps, that leaves the Cowboys using seven roster spots on cornerbacks, but only three who will likely be ready to be contributors on defense against the Giants in Week 1.
As mentioned, despite the seven corners on the depth chart, it is likely that safety Israel Mukuamu will actually serve as the fourth corner for the early weeks of the season.
Jourdan Lewis on emotional journey back from injury :: The Mothership
Patrik Walker checks in with the as-usual excellent piece that considers more than just football talent, but dives into the mental journey Lewis went through in his rehab from his broken foot. It’s an insightful view into the world of the pro athlete, beyond what many fans believe to be a world with no problems.
It was so devastating that it dragged his mental health through the mud, to the point where he couldn’t bring himself to reply to texts from coaches and players who were hoping to check in on him. But in one of the most admirable acts you’ll see from an organization, as defensive coordinator Dan Quinn noted at training camp in Oxnard, the coaching staff and players didn’t take the silence from Lewis as lack of commitment to the recovery that lay before him.
Instead, they took it for what it actually was: a heartbroken playmaker forced to the sideline.
And so they leaped into action — literally showing up at Lewis’ front door to let him know he’s still a huge part of the team, and how badly they wanted him to recover and return to the field.
15 recently released players Cowboys should consider adding :: Cowboys Wire
Dallas is thin on the offensive line, so Ben Grimaldi focused there while looking around the league at interesting cuts that may be on Dallas’ radar.
McCarthy 'all for' re-signing Will Grier in 2023 :: The Mothership
Could Grier come back to Dallas after that impressive performance? Head coach Mike McCarthy is certainly open to the idea if he doesn’t land on someone else’s 53-man roster.
Trey Lance finds 'breath of fresh air' moving on with Cowboys :: ESPN
Todd Archer dives into Trey Lance’s first press gaggle as a member of the Dallas Cowboys following Tuesday’s practice.
“I really tried to not expect anything one way or another, but I can say that when I heard ‘Cowboys,’ I had a big smile on my face,” Lance said. “I was very excited to be here.”
“It’s not how I expected it to go. It’s not how I think a lot of people expected it to go,” Lance said. “But I believe that everything happens for a reason. I think I’m here for a reason. Regardless of what it is, just want to try to find a way to help the team.”
Why each of the Top 10 Super Bowl contenders will (or won’t) hoist the Lombardi in February :: The Athletic
Link (paywall)
Austin Mock checks in with a look at the top contenders and had this to say about Dallas’ chances:
Why they’ll win the Super Bowl
Why they won’t win the Super Bowl
Cowboys 53-man roster: A trade, an undrafted fullback, secondary looks strong :: The Athletic
Link (paywall)
Saad Yousuf breaks down the Cowboys’ initial roster and here focused on the release of third-year linebacker Jabril Cox.
We’ll get to the linebackers, as a group, but the Cowboys are thin at the position and it still wasn’t enough for Jabril Cox to break through. The 2021 fourth-round pick has dealt with injuries, but there was legitimate excitement about his athleticism and how he could be used in a flex role on defense. That never came to fruition.
“You could see the struggle in that first year,” McCarthy said. “I felt like he was back to being the original Jabril, as far as seeing it and anticipating movement. Competitive situation. Our defense is dynamic for a reason. … I was very pleased with the way Jabril came back, and I thought he improved his game.”
It will be interesting to see whether another team looks at Cox, sees his potential and takes a swing at him on the waiver wire, similar to how the Cowboys did in the draft. If not, he’ll be a candidate to return to the team on the practice squad and continue his development.
