The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up OTAs and mandatory minicamp with several roster battles still unresolved. However, there are a few things we learned that make me worry about a few players’ chances to make the team.

The team reports to training camp in Oxnard, California July 28. It will be the proving ground for players on the feared roster bubble, and a few names stand out as needing a massive summer to secure spots on the 53-man roster. Let’s start with a player who signed a $9 million extension in 2025. 

Markquese Bell’s safety spot is far from guaranteed

I hate to put safety Markquese Bell on this list because he’s been a promising player since the Cowboys signed him as a rookie free agent in the 2022 offseason. He has stood out on special teams and earned a three-year, $9 million extension last year. He carries $1.5 million in guaranteed salary, so cutting him wouldn’t save Dallas much.

But Bell is 27 years old, and he has failed to become a starting safety despite years of opportunity. He was a Dan Quinn guy, scouted and brought in by Quinn, but this is a very different safety room heading into 2026. 

The roster locks ahead of Bell are significant: first-round rookie Caleb Downs (who will start at nickel before eventually moving around), Jalen Thompson (who the Cowboys signed to a $33 million deal), Malik Hooker (who has started for 15+ games for Dallas each of the last three seasons), and PJ Locke (one of the “Parker guys” to be signed this offseason. 

That’s four safeties before Bell’s name even enters the conversation, and most teams carry five or six at the position.

Bell also has to contend with younger, cheaper options. Alijah Clark, who flashed on special teams last season, is just 22 years old with more upside. Then there’s Zion Childress, a 2025 undrafted free agent who has been working primarily at safety instead of cornerback. Cowboys insider Nick Harris noted he believes Childress has made the full-time switch to the position. That’s more competition at a spot where Bell can’t afford any. 

At 27 with four locked-in players ahead of him and hungry young alternatives behind him, Bell is going to need a strong training camp to make the 53.

Jonathan Mingo faces an uphill battle at wide receiver

Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo has to be high on this list. Dallas traded a fourth-round pick for Mingo in 2024, and he has since failed to carve out a role on offense. He has six catches since arriving at the Cowboys in 2024. That includes last season, when the Cowboys dealt with significant problems at the position. CeeDee Lamb missed a couple of games early, Jalen Tolbert lost the No. 3 receiver job, which was ultimately earned by Ryan Flournoy instead of Mingo. 

Now an injury kept Mingo out of OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and the void didn’t go unfilled. Marquez Valdez-Scantling took first-team reps, with George Pickens absent from practice. Mingo is entering training camp needing to remind a coaching staff that didn’t trade for him why he belongs.

Beyond Valdez-Scantling, seventh-round pick Anthony Smith brings speed and special teams value. Undrafted free agents Jordan Hudson and Camden Brown are younger options. The Cowboys also signed Denzel Mims, a former second-round pick trying to revive his career. With the top three receivers locked in and Kavontae Turpin’s return game making him a roster certainty, Mingo is staring at wide receiver No. 5 or worse. He needs a big, big summer in Oxnard. 

Joe Milton didn’t separate himself in the backup quarterback race

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the backup quarterback job would be an open competition, and he meant it. Throughout OTAs and minicamp, Joe Milton did not emerge as the clear frontrunner over Sam Howell. That should be concerning for someone who was acquired via trade last year.

Milton has been in Dallas for over a year now. He knows Schottenheimer’s offense. He should have the natural advantage. And yet the Cowboys still felt compelled to bring in Howell, and they did that for a reason. Through the spring, Milton seemingly didn’t separate himself despite familiarity with the system.

Howell has a full season of starting experience (18 starts), and while he was a bit of a gunslinger with plenty of turnover-worthy plays mixed in with big-time throws, that experience matters. I wouldn’t be surprised if Howell ends up winning the job. For Milton, the path is simple: he needs a strong training camp in which he erases the accuracy concerns that followed him from Tennessee to New England and then to Dallas. There’s no other way around it.