Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster projection: who makes it and who doesn't?

ARLINGTON — Cutdown day has a sharp ring to it. Its wording is visceral in nature; black-and-white in its judgment.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, however, doesn’t look at the roster crunch that way.

“You look around at the guys in that locker room there, many of them have had a great camp, and it’s not over — for even the ones that won’t make our roster,” Jones said moments after the preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers had concluded. “It’s not over. I can’t tell you the numbers — it has to be 100 or more during my time with the Cowboys — that I’ve cut at this time and [they] turned around and went right back in there and helped us win games with the Cowboys. This doesn’t have the finality that you might think.”

The ultimate end? Maybe not. But still: Jones, head coach Mike McCarthy, vice president of player personnel Will McClay, and executive vice president Stephen Jones are now tasked with saying goodbye, at least in the meantime, to 37 of the 90 players currently on their roster.

That task isn’t easy. Yet, it’s the price of being a fixture in a NFL brain trust.

In the spirit of cutdown day on Tuesday, let’s take a look at how the 53-man roster could shake out.

QB (3)

Dak Prescott
Cooper Rush
Trey Lance

Cut: N/A

The lowdown: What does this quarterback room look like a year from now? That’s a great question. As for now? No question at all. The only drama about this room heading into preseason was whether Trey Lance, a former third overall pick with very little experience, could surpass Cooper Rush on the depth chart. Well, Rush had the night off in the third preseason game, and Lance threw five interceptions in a performance that even Lance agreed was up and down. All three are scheduled to be free agents. Could this be the last run for Prescott and Co.?

RB (4)

Ezekiel Elliott
Rico Dowdle
Deuce Vaughn
Hunter Luepke

Cut: Royce Freeman Snoop Conner, Malik Davis, Nathaniel Peat

The lowdown: This might be one of the toughest calls left to make. Will the Cowboys go with veteran newcomer Royce Freeman in the final running back spot? Or did second-year running back Deuce Vaughn do enough to win a job for the second year in a row? It’s not an easy call, especially because of what we saw a season ago. Vaughn showed unique burst and shiftiness this pre-season, just as he did last year. He then only had 23 carries for 40 yards last season. The Cowboys had packages for Vaughn, but the timing was never right to utilize them. He was mostly inactive for the back-half of the season. If the Cowboys choose to keep Vaughn, they’re likely planning to carve out a role for him. This preseason he made an argument for it. DLLS asked Jones after the game about Vaughn’s chances.

Will the Cowboys actually find a place for it?

WR (6)

CeeDee Lamb
Brandin Cooks
Jalen Tolbert
Jalen Brooks
KaVontae Turpin
Ryan Flournoy

Cut: Jalen Cropper, Tyron Billy-Johnson, David Durden, Cam Johnson, Deontay Burnett, Kelvin Harmon, Racey McMath

The lowdown: In this prediction, it’s Flournoy, the 6th round pick from Southeast Missouri State, who wins the rose: also known as the sixth and final roster spot. One follow-up question, however: what if the Cowboys don’t go with six receivers? Feels unlikely, especially considering the holdout of CeeDee Lamb and the knee soreness for veteran Brandin Cooks, but there are bound to be tough roster cuts across the board — maybe having five receivers could alleviate the pressure elsewhere. If the Cowboys do go with six receivers, then it’s likely a race between Flournoy, Billy-Johnson and Cropper. It may come down to who they think they could stash on their practice squad.

TE (4)

Jake Ferguson
Luke Schoonmaker
John Stephens Jr.
Brevyn Spann-Ford

Cut: Peyton Hendershot, Princeton Fant, Alec Holler

The lowdown: Here’s potentially the first curveball of the projection. The Cowboys decide to go with four tight ends in this scenario. A big reason why: Brevyn Spann-Ford is someone that might be hard to keep on the practice squad. He’s got the size and the blocking ability that other teams could covet. Dallas had to win a bidding war to sign him as an undrafted free agent anyways. Stephens had a fumble in the preseason finale, but between the last two training camps he likely did enough to earn a job.

OL (9)

Tyler Guyton
Tyler Smith
Cooper Beebe
Zack Martin
Terence Steele
Brock Hoffman
T.J. Bass
Asim Richards
Josh Ball

IR: Chuma Edoga

Cut: Matt Waletzko, Dakoda Shepley, Nathan Thomas

The lowdown: Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe got the night off on Saturday against the Chargers. Call it a congratulations for earning starting roles. Dallas may have two rookies starting on the offensive line, but they have to feel good about the depth they’ve accumulated across the line. Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass continue to look like solid lineman who could potentially play elsewhere. Asim Richards, a second-year guy out of North Carolina, took a major step this preseason and looks like someone who could play both guard and tackle in a pinch. Edoga will likely be an IR player who doesn’t count against the initial 53-man roster, per new NFL rules. Josh Ball went from outside looking in, to a potential roster spot with a good preseason.

DL (9)

Micah Parsons
DeMarcus Lawrence
Osa Odighizuwa
Mazi Smith
Chuancey Golston
Marshawn Kneeland
Jordan Phillips
Carl Lawson
Linval Joseph

Suspended: Al-Quadin Muhmmad (1 game)

Cut: Villiami Fehoko, Justin Rogers, Denzel Daxon, Durrell Johnson, Tyrus Wheat, Albert Huggins

The lowdown: Remember when we added a fourth tight end? This is where we took a roster spot from. If we had the Cowboys with 10 defensive linemen, Muhammad would’ve been the one making the team. He had a solid preseason after joining training camp late. He had a sack against the Chargers on Saturday. The disappointment here is Fehoko, whom the Cowboys drafted in the fourth round just last year. A trio of late veteran additions in Lawson, Joseph and Phillips make the team.

LB (5)

Eric Kendricks
Damone Clark
Marist Liufau
DeMarvion Overshown
Buddy Johnson

Cut: Nick Vigil, Jason Johnson, Darius Harris, Brock Mogensen, Willie Harvey, Damien Wilson

The lowdown: There shouldn’t be much discussion, if at all, about the top four on this list. That fifth spot gets interesting. There were a lot of candidates for it, but I think it comes down to a player the new defensive staff knows well (Vigil), and a player who was on the team last year and played well this preseason, especially in the finale against Chargers (Johnson). In this case, I think the Cowboys go with the younger Johnson. If they need a linebacker in the future, Vigil shouldn’t be more than a phone call away.

CB (5)

Trevon Diggs
Jourdan Lewis
Caelen Carson
Isreal Mukuamu
Kemon Hall

IR: DaRon Bland

Cut: Andrew Booth, Josh Butler, Josh DeBerry, Eric Scott

The lowdown: Before Saturday’s game I actually had Booth, a former second round pick, making the team. A second-straight shaky performance had me sliding in Hall, a longshot who’s not even on the online roster, ahead. Hall joined camp late but played well in it. He had a pick-six for a touchdown in the second preseason game as well. He missed Saturday’s game due to shoulder soreness. That might not keep him from a roster spot, however. Bland will likely start on the IR, which means he wouldn’t count against the initial 53-man roster.

S (5)

Malik Hooker
Donovan Wilson
Juanyeh Thomas
Markquese Bell
C.J. Goodwin

Cut: Julius Wood. Emany Johnson

The lowdown: Julius Wood had an interception in two of three preseason games. He looks like he could be another UDFA safety gem found by the Cowboys, if they decide to keep him. It could come down to him and veteran special teams ace C.J. Goodwin, who is one of the locker room’s best leaders, as well. The Cowboys eventually will say goodbye to Goodwin, who’s 34. Not in this projection, however.

S/T (3)

Brandon Aubrey
Bryan Anger
Trent Sieg

Cut: N/A

The lowdown: The only change to this group since the beginning of preseason was the addition of Baby Butter, also known as Brandon’s newborn son, Colton.