Official, initial Cowboys 53-man roster
The cuts are in and the Dallas Cowboys have whittled their offseason roster down to the league-maximum 53 players ahead of Tuesday’s 3:00 p.m. Central deadline. There were a handful of surprises, as Dallas’ front office took the path we knew they would to the extreme. They released almost all vested veterans on cheap
In our final 53-man roster projection, we ended up getting __ out of the 53 names correct, __%. Over the last several weeks we discussed the likelihood that Dallas was going to release several vested vets who were on cheap deals. While some of the names are different, the concept was definitely used repeatedly here.
Quarterback (1)
Dak Prescott
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The Cowboys released Ben DiNucci on Sunday and on Tuesday released both Will Grier and Cooper Rush. Rush is one of those vested veterans who will be back soon and the club will try to bring Grier back to the practice squad if he clears waivers.
RB (3)
Ezekiel Elliott
Tony Pollard
Rico Dowdle
(AP Photo/Roger Steinman)
WR (8)
CeeDee Lamb
Michael Gallup
Noah Brown
KaVontae Turpin
Jalen Tolbert
James Washington*
Simi Fehoko
Dennis Houston
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Eight WR is a lot, but Washington is just here to be moved to IR, while Gallup is going to miss at least Week 1 and likely Week 2. The club didn’t want to keep him on PUP because that means he wouldn’t be able to practice until Week 5.
Tight End (3)
Dalton Schultz
Jake Ferguson
Peyton Hendershot
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The Cowboys will likely try to get Sean McKeon on the practice squad, but this is an exciting group of young TEs for Dallas to build around.
Offensive Linemen (9)
Tyron Smith
Tyler Smith
Tyler Biadasz
Zack Martin
Terence Steele
Matt Farniok
Connor McGovern
Matt Waletzko
Josh Ball
Tyron Smith is going to IR on Wednesday, and there may be another surprise person going as well. Or two. Interesting group here with Tyler Smith and Matt Waletzko having injury designations to end the preseason.
Defensive Ends (6)
(AP Photo/Mark Tenally)
DeMarcus Lawrence
Dorance Armstrong
Sam Williams
Dante Fowler
Chauncey Golston
Tarell Basham
The emergence of Williams over the last couple of preseason games made the inclusion of the veteran FAs questionable, but all 6 are here for now.
Defensive Tackles (5)
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Osa Odighizuwa
Neville Gallimore
Trysten Hill
Quinton Bohanna
John Ridgeway
The big nasties in the middle both stay as Bohanna really came on strong this training camp and the club will give Ridgeway a chance to prove his worth after underwhelming in the preseason.
Linebackers (6)
(AP Photo/LM Otero)
Micah Parsons
Leighton Vander Esch
Anthony Barr
Jabril Cox
Luke Gifford
Devin Harper
Everyone here was assured except for Harper. He was impressive but the only question is whether Dallas was running with six at the position.
Cornerbacks (6)
(AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)
Trevon Diggs
Anthony Brown
Jourdan Lewis
DaRon Bland
Kelvin Joseph
Nahshon Wright
A ton of draft pedigree deep on the bench as the Cowboys have developed a for-now and a future group to be proud of.
Safeties (5)
(AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Jayron Kearse
Malik Hooker
Donovan Wilson
Israel Mukuamu
Markquese Bell
Dallas cut some really good young talent, but this is the best safety group the team has had in decades.
Special Teams (1)
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Bryan Anger
The Cowboys released their kicker, long snapper and special teams ace, but all will be back before Week 1.
