Dallas Cowboys fans are certainly feeling underwhelmed as their team marches into Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Owner Jerry Jones had a rough offseason, forced to make several decisions that were met with a fiery backlash.
Trading away Amari Cooper was an unpopular decision due to the fact that it left the Cowboys short-handed. You could argue that Jones did little to add notable depth to the position. Dallas heads into the regular season with CeeDee Lamb and a rookie in Jalen Tolbert as its top receivers. The Cowboys’ offensive line also has some serious concerns given the injury history of Tyron Smith. Zack Martin can’t block everyone.
All of these offseason conundrums aside, head coach Mike McCarthy has some tough decisions to make with an already thin roster, especially on offense.
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3 potential cuts to keep an eye on as the Dallas Cowboys trim their roster
Cooper Rush, quarterback
Cooper Rush had Will Grier breathing down his neck throughout training camp and the preseason. Grier has thoroughly impressed with his legs and athleticism. That’s not to say he’s not a good passer, either. During camp, Grier showed off potential with his reads and ability to get the ball into tight spaces, such as the beautiful completion to Noah Brown that made waves on social media.
Rush has won a regular-season game for the Cowboys, but it’s Grier’s combination of raw athletic ability, toughness (the man pushed through a groin injury to get onto the field and fight for his roster spot), and excellent on-field awareness that make him a wild card. One other thing that stood out in the preseason and could be a determining factor is Grier’s aggressiveness. We all know Jones and Cowboys fans will take that over Rush. They’ve seen what he can do already. It’s time for something different.
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Rico Dowdle, running back
Will it be Malik Davis or Rico Dowdle? Regrettably, Dowdle will be the odd-man out in Big D. A noteworthy advantage that Davis has over Dowdle is his versatility. He can be used on special teams during the season. The Dallas Cowboys are in a bit of a crunch. They can’t keep both running backs as that would create a surplus combined with their wide receivers and defensive backs as they trim the roster to 53.
Davis has impressed in the preseason and apparently the coaching staff is raving about him, which could lead to Dowdle possibly being on the outside. Optimally speaking, the Cowboys would like to keep both. The primary reason being that the long-term plans for Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard are murky at best. In the end, Davis’ preseason performances will be enough to earn him the spot. He recorded 132 rushing yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry.
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Dante Fowler, defensive end
The Cowboys’ coaching staff also has tough calls to make when it comes to their defense. Dante Fowler had some impressive moments during the preseason. If you recall, against the Los Angeles Chargers, Fowler at one point penetrated their offensive and single-handedly disrupted the Chargers’ offense, causing a three-yard loss. At the same time, Fowler was in the news for the wrong reasons. He was fined $10,000 for an unnecessary roughness call back on August 20th.
It’s not so much a question of Fowler’s talent. Rather, it could come down to just how many defensive ends Jones and the Cowboys will keep. Will they keep Tarrell Basham or Fowler? A case can be made for both of them, which would lead to Dallas keeping six defensive ends. However, for the same reasons that Dowdle could be out, the Cowboys might need to keep five defensive ends to allow an additional player to stay on, possibly on offense. Also, there’s the concluding and financial aspect. Cutting Fowler would save upwards of $1 million, according to Spotrac.