Cowboys News: Old foe on FA visit, practice squad assembled, roster shuffles aplenty
Tuesday’s “final” 53-man roster was never going to actually be the final roster. As expected, Wednesday brought myriad moves as the Cowboys front office utilized all the loopholes and allowable tricks to shuffle the roster even further. A couple high-profile stars moved to injured reserve to allow for an early comeback, while the practice squad was built with many of the players who got bad news just a day prior. The team is moving forward with their only kicker and all backup quarterbacks on the practice squad for now, and all indications are they’re not done finessing the actual “final roster.”
Meanwhile, there may be a new Cowboy riding into town, and he used to be one of the bad guys. A former NFC East foe is set to visit The Star to talk about a job at left tackle… but one of the franchise’s icons says Mike McCarthy hasn’t always been great about helping his tackles out. We’re talking about the impact of rookies on McCarthy teams, looking at the youth movement in Dallas, ranking the triplets on every team in the league, and casting our eyes way ahead at who might be a good first-round pick for the Cowboys in 2023. That’s all up in News and Notes.
Cowboys to host FA left tackle Jason Peters after putting Smith on IR :: Cowboys Wire
Granted, the longtime Eagles tackle is 40 years old. But having nine Pro Bowls on his resume makes him worth at least a look, and he did make 15 starts for Chicago last season. A free agent, Peters will meet with the team Thursday to see if he can be a good last-minute fit for a team in need of experienced O-line depth.
2022 practice squad tracker as Cowboys will elevate backup QBs on gameday :: Cowboys Wire
The team got back plenty of Tuesday’s more promising castoffs, like running back Malik Davis, wide receiver Brandon Smith, and safety Tyler Coyle. But they also used the practice squad to stash kicker Brett Maher… and both backup quarterbacks. The plan will be to elevate either Cooper Rush or Will Grier to the active lineup for gameday. Each can be elevated three times over the course of the season.
Cowboys win no waiver claims, begin building practice squad with their own cuts :: Cowboys Wire
Despite a few intriguing names on the waiver wire, the Cowboys acquired no one when the claims went through Wednesday. But no one the team cut on Tuesday was picked up by anyone else, either. That allowed the front office to reach back out and start immediately building the practice squad with players they had to let go just a day prior.
Cowboys to sign Falcons RB to practice squad :: Michael Gehlken (Twitter)
Cowboys are in discussions to sign former Falcons RB Qadree Ollison to practice squad, person familiar with situation said. Not official, but team is "working on it." Ollison, a 2019 fifth-round pick from Pittsburgh, had 21 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown last season. pic.twitter.com/ZihdAopPjI
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 31, 2022
Every NFL team's most surprising roster cut :: Cowboys Wire
There’s always at least one name that raises eyebrows when the cut list comes out. For Dallas this year, it was Cooper Rush. The backup passer started- and won- a primetime game last season, but couldn’t definitively wrestle the understudy gig away from a competing Will Grier. He’s back on the practice squad now but is still expected to serve as QB2.
Cowboys move Tyron Smith, James Washington to IR; re-sign two specialists :: Cowboys Wire
As expected, Smith and Washington were placed on injured reserve; either will be able to return to active duty this season, as long as they sit out the team’s first four games. Filling their slots on the 53-man roster are long snapper Jake McQuaide and special teams ace C.J. Goodwin, who had to be procedurally cut on Tuesday with this exact switch in mind.
McCarthy leaning toward Tyler Smith at left tackle :: Pat Doney (Twitter)
Mike McCarthy: rookie Tyler Smith will get a lot of work at left tackle (all but announced him as starter), Michael Gallup (knee) “is getting close,” says they had more than 53 players worthy of being on the #DallasCowboys roster.@NBCDFW pic.twitter.com/t78LbCQ7Et
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) August 31, 2022
Troy Aikman criticizes McCarthy's approach to offensive tackles :: Mac Engel (Twitter)
@TroyAikman during @ESPN conf call re #DallasCowboys & loss of Tyron Smith:
"Mike McCarthy historically has not been a guy who has wanted to help his tackles. We've seen that in Green Bay. Sometimes he was criticized for it. So it is a big blow to them."— Mac Engel (@MacEngelProf) August 31, 2022
5 Cowboys roster takeaways include why trades could be coming :: Cowboys Wire
The team may not be done moving guys to short-term IR, and there may be a player or two who made the initial roster only because the team is holding on to them as trade capital. Also of note, 11% of the roster is made up of undrafted free agents, and the team is carrying a disproportionate number of both receivers and safeties.
Results are in, Cowboys have one of NFL's youngest rosters in 2022 :: Cowboys Wire
The average age of the initial 53-man roster this season was 25.2, making the Cowboys the third-youngest team in the NFL. Of course, that number has changed already with the shuffling of guys like Goodwin and McQuaide. But in a league that tends to operate on three-year cycles, Dallas is on the younger side once again.
McCarthy stresses importance of rookies' contributions :: Jon Machota (Twitter)
Mike McCarthy said he showed the team his Packers roster from the year they won the Super Bowl. Ten rookies played on that team. He pointed out that there are 17 rookies on the current Cowboys roster. His point was that many of the rookies are going to be playing in big games
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 31, 2022
2022 NFL triplets rankings: Bengals, Eagles climb; Packers, Chiefs drop :: NFL.com
The Cowboys helped establish the modern notion of offensive “triplets” with a star quarterback, yardage-monster running back, and dynamic wide receiver. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and CeeDee Lamb are no Aikman/Smith/Irvin, but they’re good enough to rank No. 8 in the league for this season.
2023 NFL mock draft: C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young in Top 5 :: The Athletic
It’s never too early for a mock draft, and the Cowboys can never have enough defensive backs. With the 29th pick in this one, Dallas selects South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith. Also worth mentioning here is that to get the 29th pick next spring, the Cowboys would have to go to the NFC Championship this winter.
