The Cowboys wrapped up the preseason finale at AT&T Stadium, falling to the Saints 27-24. Despite the late game heriocs by Sam Howell, Dallas fell behind early and struggled to crawl back and win it.
I feel like there were plenty of things that weren’t going to change by how this game played out going into today. But some things did change.
Sam Howell may have punched his ticket
Coming into Friday, I thought Joe Milton had done enough to have the advantage for the backup quarterback job. Milton had been the more impressive quarterback through the first two preseason games and continued to show off the physical ability that makes him such an intriguing player.
But Sam Howell needed a good night against New Orleans, and he delivered.
Howell looked comfortable running the offense and gave the Cowboys some big plays late in the game to bring them back to tie it late. He completed 12 of his 18 passing attempts for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s one that we may just split the difference and have two backup quarterbacks here is the easy way to do it,” Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said about the QB battle postgame. Which alludes to both Milton and Howell sticking around on this team.
Jonathan Mingo made the team
Camden Brown has been one of the best stories of training camp. But, there has been a lot of talk regarding the Cowboys only keeping 5 WRs. Which would leave either Mingo or Brown off the roster.
While it is not confirmed whether the Cowboys keep 5 or 6 WRs…it is confirmed that Jonathan Mingo will be that WR5. He did not dress for the game and sat out with 30 other roster locks on the sideline.
So this leaves the decision if there is a spot for Brown as 6 or not.
Marist Liufau’s injury changes the equation
There were questions whether Marist Liufau would be on this team or not. If he made the 53, it would primarily be for a role on special teams. But as he was playing last night, Liufau fractured his forearm and will require surgery.
Which may have a positive outlook for him to stay in Dallas a little longer. Liufau can be designated as an IR-DTR player which means he can move to IR from the 90-man roster and still be allowed to come back for the season.
Typically a player needs to make the initial 53-man roster before moving to IR otherwise they would have to go to season ending IR. Teams only get 2 IR-DTR designations.
Dallas should be watching the rest of the NFL
The Cowboys have spent the last month figuring out which players deserve to make their roster. Now, they need to pay attention to everyone else’s.
Offensive tackle remains the biggest concern for me. Nate Thomas hasn’t completely secured the swing tackle job, while Drew Shelton is still a fourth-round rookie developing at the NFL level. If something happens to Tyler Guyton or Terence Steele, is Dallas comfortable with what it currently has behind them?
The same conversation can be had about the depth at a few other positions, including cornerback.
Hundreds of players will become available as teams cut their rosters down to 53. Dallas doesn’t need to make a move just to make one, but it shouldn’t assume all of its answers are already in the building. They should be watching this waiver wire.
Dallas can begin as early as this morning cutting down to 53, but the deadline is tomorrow at 5 pm CT.
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