DALLAS — Cut down day for the Dallas Cowboys has come and gone and their initial 53-man roster is set. However, you can assume that the decisions were written in pencil rather than pen because there will be changes before the team takes the field against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept 13.
There were also some surprises as the franchise whittled its roster down and there are some positions that remain in flux. With training camp now over, the 2020 version of the Cowboys will begin preparing for the season that awaits beginning on Sunday night.
As coach Norman Dale said in the movie Hoosiers, “This is your team.”
Not too many of the surprises come on offense. The Cowboys had gotten used to carrying two quarterbacks on the roster under Jason Garrett and that was expected to change under Mike McCarthy; it did. Dallas will now have three field generals in the QB room, and, even though we haven’t heard much about the rookie 7th-rounder Ben DiNucci, the team chose to keep the prospect at the game’s most important position.
At RB, the team also kept three. There was some thought that the Cowboys might only keep two and look around for a third back, but instead they opted to keep undrafted runner Rico Dowdle.
The wide receiver position started to solidify throughout camp and the team kept six. Fans of the Cowboys were wondering who would emerge behind the big three and training camp reports of Cedrick Willson and Noah Brown standing out were right on the money. Ventell Bryant sticks with the franchise as a special teams ace, as expected, but he’ll start the season on the IR.
One staple that remained from the Garrett era is going heavy at TE, where McCarthy opted to keep four. Undrafted rookie Sean McKeon made the squad, giving Dallas four TEs, which may have surprised some.
The Cowboys went heavy on the offensive line, keeping 10. If you’ve paid attention to the team in camp, you’d know the issues they’ve had with injuries along the line, so going with 10 makes sense. Also, the news that starting RT La’el Collins is expected to be placed on the injured reserve list to start the season may have forced their hand.
Undrafted tackle Terence Steele was not a name many expected to make the initial roster, but he earned his way onto the big squad.
On defense, there were some decisions that shocked some observers. Keeping 10 defensive linemen, five DTs and five DEs, wasn’t one of the surprises. Dorance Armstrong might have been the last man to stick in the group and he might be a placeholder until Randy Gregory is eligible to return.
Going with only five LBs feels astonishingly sparse, however, especially since Sean Lee has been earmarked for the IR and Luke Gifford has been banged up in camp with an IR trip likely as well. Though he was cut, Justin March was re-signed after the team finalized the practice squad. Still, without Lee and possibly Gifford, that leaves the team with just four linebackers, which is light for a high impact position.
The biggest surprise of all the cuts was LB Francis Bernard. His exclusion from the initial 53-man roster was not expected. The undrafted rookie LB opened eyes in camp and had been highly spoken of by the coaching staff, so seeing Bernard left off the roster was a bit of a head scratcher.
It was surprising to see Dallas expose a player they like to the other 31 teams but it appears that Bernard will remain with the Cowboys on the practice squad. Once Dallas knows for sure which players will need to hit the IR, don’t be surprised to see Bernard become one of the first players called upon.
In the secondary, the only stunner was that C.J. Goodwin was cut from the initial list. The veteran CB is a special teams standout, and, with the Cowboys paying more attention to that area of the team this season, it seemed like an odd move. That proved to be a misdirect with Goodwin also re-upping with the team as a roster maneuver as it appears DB Jourdan Lewis could begin the season on the IR.
One notable addition to the practice squad was Brandon Carr who visited with Dallas late in camp. Carr, a former Cowboy, could come in and help out at safety as soon as the IR designations are finalized.
This is the first look at the Cowboys’ roster, which will go through many changes over the course of the season. Stay tuned Cowboys fans, the roster isn’t quite set just yet but we have our first idea for which players will try to help Dallas reclaim the NFC East crown.
Do you think that this is a 53-man roster that can lead the Cowboys back to the playoffs? Share your predictions with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
