Cowboys Finalize 53-Man Roster: Top 3 Surprises in Moves
The 3 p.m. CT roster cutdown deadline has come and gone and the Dallas Cowboys have finalized their initial 53-man active roster. ... with some surprises ( Kelvin Joseph trade! The kicker sticks! And "who the heck is Hunter Luepke!'')
Some of the 37 moves made to get to 53 are injury-related. Tackle Josh Ball, wide receivers David Durden and John Stephens Jr. and linebacker DeMarvion Overshown are all on the injured reserve and running back was Ronald Jones suspended. Dallas showed where its priorities lie, keeping 10 defensive linemen and 13 players in the secondary.
Here's the initial look at the Cowboys' 53-man active roster. Dallas doesn't currently have a long-snapper on roster (Trent Sieg will come back, as will special-teamer C.J. Goodwin), but there is now time for teams to scour the released players from other teams to fill positional needs.
The Cowboys still have 16 spots to fill on their practice squad with either players they released or those that clear the NFL's waiver period.
Quarterbacks (3): Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Trey Lance
Will Grier will go down in Cowboys lore for his gutsy performance against the Las Vegas Raiders despite knowing his fate, throwing for 305 yards and two touchdowns, while scoring twice on the ground as well. Lance steps in as a project and will have to work his way up the totem pole — he will someday compete against Rush to be Prescott's backup. Prescott's job is 100-percent safe.
Running Backs (4): Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke
The top three on the Cowboys' tailback depth chart were layups, especially after Vaughn proved that height is only a number. His shiftiness in the open field earned him the RB3 role.
Luepke is the surprise here, as his 67 yards on 21 carries was enough to win over the coaching staff. Maybe Dallas' plan is to use him on special teams? An extra tight end? Short yardage?
Wide Receivers (6): CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks
No surprises here as Turpin and Tolbert shined throughout the preseason, proving themselves as speedster depth pieces behind Dallas' big three. The Cowboys took a flier on Brooks in the seventh round of this year's draft and were impressed with his talents in camp.
Tight End (3): Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot
Three gritty, hard-nosed Big Ten football players make up the Cowboys' tight end room. Schoonmaker returned from an injury and caught a touchdown pass against the Raiders in the preseason finale, working his way back as the room looks to replace the absence of Dalton Schultz. Hendershot and Ferguson should get their fair share of snaps this season, and Sean McKeon might come back.
Offensive Line (8): Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, Terence Steele, Asim Richards, T.J. Bass, Matt Waletzko
In comparison to most rosters, the Cowboys went kind of light on the offensive line only carrying eight players. However, when you have an offensive line that allowed the fourth-fewest sacks in the NFL last season, how much depth do you really need? The plan is to bring back Chuma Edoga as well.
Defensive Line (10): DeMarcus Lawrence, Johnathan Hankins, Osa Odighizuwa, Dorance Armstrong, Sam Williams, Mazi Smith, Dante Fowler Jr., Viliami Fehoko Jr., Chauncey Golston, Neville Gallimore
While there's certainly talent in the room, it's a little interesting how many players the Cowboys kept on the defensive line. The amount of bodies they kept could be an indication they're not certain on Smith's development after he was manhandled against the Seahawks or whether or not Williams will get suspended, but 10 defensive linemen feels like a lot.
Linebackers (4): Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, Damone Clark, Devin Harper
Overshown would have fit in really well within this group and provided a solid depth piece at the second level for the Cowboys. You know what you're getting from Parsons and Vander Esch, but this will be a big opportunity for Clark to step up after being limited 10 games last season.
Cornerbacks (7): Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, DaRon Bland, Nahshon Wright, Eric Scott Jr., Noah Igbinoghene, Jourdan Lewis
The Cowboys have some ballhawks in their cornerbacks room between Diggs, Gilmore and Bland. This will be a really fun group to watch go up against some of the NFL's best like Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, A.J. Brown and Tyreek Hill.
Safeties (6): Malik Hooker, Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas, Israel Mukuamu
Like with the defensive line room, six safeties to go with seven cornerbacks feels like a bit much, but with at least five — sometimes six — players in the defensive backfield every down, this makes a little more sense. But hey, there's three phases and head coach Mike McCarthy and special-teams coordinator John Fassel may want to use some on kick coverages.
Kicker (1): Brandon Aubrey
Punter (1): Bryan Anger
As noted before, the Cowboys don't have a long-snapper, but have no fear as they'll get it all sorted out before Week 1 against the New York Giants by bringing back Trent Sieg. ... along with special-teams ace C.J. Goodwin, two moves that will re-establish that "final'' isn't ever really final.
