Cowboys: 3 potential surprise cuts entering the preseason
The Dallas Cowboys play an actual football game this week. Kind of. Although the Cowboys aren't expected to play their starters a lot this preseason, you've got to be excited about them taking the field against an actual rival. After all, training camp battles are heating up. Slowly but surely, we're inching closer toward answers […]
The Dallas Cowboys play an actual football game this week. Kind of.
Although the Cowboys aren't expected to play their starters a lot this preseason, you've got to be excited about them taking the field against an actual rival. After all, training camp battles are heating up. Slowly but surely, we're inching closer toward answers for the 53-man roster.
As such, we'll dive into three Cowboys players previously believed to be roster "locks" that could end up being surprise cuts when cutdown day rolls around. Let's do it!
CB/ST C.J. Goodwin
Goodwin is John Fassel's ace. It's his guy.
His athleticism and open-field tackling ability has allowed the veteran to stick around even if the Cowboys don't look at him as an actual cornerback. It's easy to love special teamers like Goodwin but not providing defensive depth makes his path to the 53-man roster more difficult, however.
This year, that's particularly the case as younger players like Nahshon Wright, Kelvin Joseph, and DaRon Bland are all having strong camps on special teams and they all are expected to provide legit cornerback depth as well.
Although Joseph is among those that people want to see more from in Oxnard, Mike McCarthy has explicitly pointed out that he could have a strong role on special teams. Whether or not that's what you want from your 2021 second-round pick is a discussion for another day. For now, we just know that's shaping up to be a big part of his role.
With guys like WR KaVontae Turpin, LB Devin Harper, and FB Ryan Nall also aiming to carve out roles almost exclusively on special teams, you gotta wonder how safe Goodwin's job is.
DL John Ridgeway
The Cowboys are not a team that usually moves on from its draft picks, even those made on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. But the defensive line could feature more than one surprise cut given the way it's built.
Defensive ends like Chauncey Golston and rookie Sam Williams can slide inside in Dan Quinn's versatile defense, which makes us think the Cowboys are likely to go long at end while going short at tackle when putting together the roster.
That brings up a problem. How many big-bodied one-techniques are the Cowboys going to carry? Between Ridgeway and Quinton Bohanna, only one is likely to make the roster. Based on early reports out of Oxnard, it sounds like Ridgeway is ahead for now.
But it's early in camp and if Bohanna ends up winning that battle, the Cowboys might be forced to cut the rookie out of Arkansas.
WR Simi Fehoko / TJ Vasher
I know, I know. These are two players, not one. But humor me for a second.
Two wide receivers most of us didn't expect to make the roster early in the offseason have been getting consistent praise in Oxnard. At this stage, based on quotes from coaches and teammates, it sounds like KaVontae Turpin and UDFA Dennis Houston are favorites to make the 53-man roster.
Houston is out there running team drills with the ones while Turpin is getting love both from John Fassel and Kellen Moore. That complicates matters for Fehoko and Vasher. Say the Cowboys keep six wide receivers, this is what my head count would look like right now:
- CeeDee Lamb
- Jalen Tolbert
- Noah Brown
- Dennis Houston
- KaVontae Turpin
- Vasher / Fehoko
And that's leaving Michael Gallup aside for now. It's tough for me to envision a Cowboys roster in which both Fehoko and Vasher make it. Whoever loses this battle will likely be on the outside looking in.
For more on this topic, you can check out Sunday's episode of my show A to Z Sports Dallas Primetime!
Featured image via Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
