For one of the lowest paid and least played guys on the roster, Hunter Luepke has plenty of job security. Our roster rundown series moves to the fullback position, where Luepke appears poised to return in 2026 and continue his unique role with the Dallas Cowboys.
Background
Years in NFL: 3
Acquired by: UDFA (2023)
Before 2023, the Cowboys had gone four years without a full-time fullback on the roster. Jamize Olawale was the last to hold that to truly hold the job, and 2019 was his final year in Dallas. But once
Mike McCarthy showed up in 2020, the Cowboys went to far more single-back formations or utilizing tight ends as backfield blockers. They would occasionally work with a fullback like Sewo Olonilua in 2020 or Nick Ralston in 2021, but never for more than a few games. Despite often having a FB candidate in training camp, Dallas never really saw one break through as a regular offensive contributor during the McCarthy-Kellen Moore era.
Moore left for the Chargers in 2023 and Brian Schottenheimer moved in to the coordinator role. While McCarthy was still the playcaller and very influential on the scheme, Schottenheimer brought his own philosophies to the mix. That combination seemed to pave the way for Hunter Luepke, one of the Cowboys undrafted free agents that year, to make the roster.
Especially with McCarthy still around, Luepke probably doesn’t make the 2023 team as just a pure blocker. And really, that wasn’t even his strength as a fullback. Versatility is what got Luepke a roster spot: a capable ball-carrier and shot-yardage back, receiver, special teamer, and even an option as an emergency tight end.
All of those traits have helped Luepke hang around for the last three seasons. His playing time more than doubled in 2024 and remained strong last year. While he’s still a niche player in the grand scheme, Luepke’s role has become arguably more valuable in Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams’ offense with the move to more play-action and a run-focused attack.
Contract Status
Years Left: 2
2026 Cap Hit: $3 million
The Cowboys’ appreciation for Luepke was expressed last year with a contract extension that made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid fullbacks. Granted, that’s still just around $3-$4 million per year. But it still shows that Dallas value Luepke enough to not only keep a true fullback, which about half the league doesn’t anymore, and pay premium money for him.
As of this year, Luepke still has $3.5 million in dead money against his contract. So if the Cowboys do have any notion of cutting him this August, they won’t get any cap relief for it. But as we’re about to get into, we doubt they’ll even give that much of a thought.
2026 Projections
Role: Fullback
Roster Chance: 95%
With the same offensive nucleus in place this year, there’s little reason to think Luepke’s role or job security will change. And especially with no cap incentive to release him, Luepke feels like a virtual lock to make the 2026 roster and continue his work.
The one factor to consider though, and why we can’t put him as a 100% lock, is that he does ultimately fill a small role. Consider this: last year, Luepke appeared on just 251 (21%) of Dallas’ offensive snaps. Comparatively, Brevyn Spann-Ford played on 300 snaps (25%) as the third tight-end. Luke Schoonmaker was in on 391 plays, even after losing snaps to Spann-Ford later in the year.
What if UDFA Michael Trigg blows the team away this summer? More than likely, it would mean they release Schoonmaker and not impact Luepke at all. But there’s at least a possibility, however faint, that Dallas might decide they prefer keeping a fourth TE over the fullback. If Trigg is still too raw for significant playing time, but too intriguing to risk on the practice squad, that could put the Cowboys in the tough position of deciding who they really need more.
Again, Schoonmaker probably gets the axe. He’s in the last year of his deal and would give Dallas $1.6 million in cap space if released. But as we saw above, backup TEs got more play than Luepke in 2025. The Cowboys may still see enough value in Schoonmaker’s experience to keep him on, especially given Jake Ferguson’s recent injury issues, and deal with not having Luepke anymore.
That said, we’re still only giving it a small chance of happening. Luepke covers so many other spots, including regular work on special teams, that he’ll be very hard to cut. He may be the backup to Javonte Williams for goal-line and other short-yardage carries if Phil Mafah doesn’t make the roster. There are just too many ways that Luepke benefits the team, and more then validates a roster spot, to see him leaving.
Check out our previous player profiles from this series:
G Tyler Booker
WR Jonathan Mingo
LB Shemar James
LS Trent Sieg
G Trevor Keegan
EDGE Tyrus Wheat
