The Good & Not So Good From Dallas Cowboys' Final Practice of Training Camp

The Dallas Cowboys officially closed out their 2026 training camp on Wednesday in front of fans at The Star, wrapping up a string of practices that began on July 29 and continued during another memorable trip to Oxnard.

Dallas will now play one final preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, a team they scrapped and fought with during a joint practice earlier this month, before final cuts are made and the regular season begins.

Before figuring exactly who will make the 53-man roster and who won't, let's take a final look at the positive and negatives from Dallas' final training camp practice.

Good: CeeDee Lamb

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb (88) looks on prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We haven't gotten to see too much of Lamb in action over the past two weeks due to the starters being sidelined for the preseason, but he gave the fans at The Star plenty of highlights to chew on during Wednesday's practice,

Lamb and Dak Prescott connected early and often. Prescott found Lamb in stride in the end zone, dropping it into the bucket over cornerback Cobie Durant, before the star-studded pair connected again only a few minutes later during red zone drills.

Lamb beat DaRon Bland and Prescott found him for another touchdown, this time on a one-handed catch.

Not Good: Cobie Durant

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Cobie Durant (2) at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Durant being included on the "not so good" has less to do with anything he did wrong and more to do with the brilliance of George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.

That said, he still allowed two total touchdowns during team and red zone periods, something he certainly won't feel too happy about and a result that lands him on this part of the list.

The first came on Lamb's first touchdown while the second was an impressive contested catch in the corner of the end zone by Pickens, who held onto the ball despite tight coverage from Durant, who was trying to poke the bal free as the two of them tumbled to the ground.

However, Durant has seemingly solidified his spot as the starting cornerback opposite of DaRon Bland after a strong camp, and giving up two touchdowns to two of the league's best receivers isn't changing that.

Good: Jaishawn Barham

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaishawn Barham (55) goes through a drill during practice at the Ford Center at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Barham got the start on defense alongside DeMarvion Overshown during the team period and didn't take long to have an impact. He got free on a blitz and went unblocked toward Prescott, who had to quickly throw the ball away.

Had it been in a real game, Barham would have had a clean sack or forced a rushed throwaway at the very least.

Barham is displaying a pattern of aggressiveness and is clearly building off what he showed in the second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Not Good: Still No Clarity on QB2 Battle

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Joe Milton III (10) drops back to pass in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There still doesn't appear to be much separation with the backup quarterback battle between Joe Milton III and Sam Howell.

Howell didn't connect on fades during red zone drills and and barely missed Jonathan Mingo on deep crossing route.

Milton then had a screen pass blown up by Sam Williams.

Howell had a deep completion to Camden Brown, but it was more of an incredible catch by Brown.

Milton answered with a nice play of his own, as he rolled left and found Anthony Smith for a 37-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Neither quarterback played well enough or poor enough to truly make it feel like things are swinging one way or the other.

Good: Jalen Thompson

Thompson had two PBUs across a span of three plays, one against Jake Ferguson and the other against CeeDee Lamb.

He made sure to go celebrate with teammates on the sideline right after.

Fans will sure like what they've been seeing from him during training camp after being sidelined a bit with a hip injury.

Not Good: Flag-Happy Refs

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. (28) at training camp at River Ridge Playing Fields. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cowboys cornerback Shavon Revel got called for pass interference after a PBU on Pickens.

Might be nit-picking here, but a flag can't be thrown there.

Revel deserves to have a play like that stand during the season, especially after the training camp he's had.

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