The Dallas Cowboys still have one preseason game remaining against the Atlanta Falcons before they have to get under the league mandated 53-man roster limit, but one game shouldn’t alter the decision-making process too much. Odds are Brian Schottenheimer and his coaching staff already have a pretty good idea of who’s staying and who’s going, especially if you read between the lines of what he said recently.
“We’ll sit down and make some decisions about the entire roster,” Schottenheimer told reporters.
“There will probably be a few surprises compared to the projections out there, where people might say, I thought for sure this guy was going to make it.”
One can assume from Schottenheimer’s statement the bulk of the Cowboys 53-man roster is already penciled in. What the “few surprises” are that he references is anyone’s guess. But that’s what we plan on doing today. We’re going to attempt to predict who some of Dallas’ surprise roster cuts could be and explain why we can to that assumption.
RB Miles Sanders
Despite the Cowboys lack of clarity at the RB position, Miles Sanders time in Dallas looks to be short-lived. Javonte Williams is obviously the RB1 after being held out with the rest of the starters in the preseason, and Jaydon Blue receiving first-team reps prior to his ankle/heel is a pretty good indication he’ll be the primary backup. That leaves Sanders on the outside looking in competing with Phil Mafah and any other RB Dallas could potentially claim off of waivers or add after roster cuts. The hopes of his recapturing his Pro Bowl form hasn’t materialized, which should make him a surprise cut in the favor of another RB with more upside.
OL Asim Richards
Asim Richards entered the offseason under the assumption he would be the Cowboys swing tackle for the second year in a row after showing growth as a rotational starter. Then throw in the fact he has the position flex to kick inside to guard and one would think that added versatility would make him a virtual roster lock. Unfortunately for him, Nathan Thomas came out of nowhere, not only jumping him on the depth chart, but earning the trust of both his QB and the coaching staff. This would likely be strictly a numbers crunch move were Dallas may have to go deeper at another position and shorter on the OL. Ideally, he’d go unclaimed, returning to the practice squad.
DT Mazi Smith
Mazi Smith looks to be heading down the same path as Taco Charlton as a former Michigan player and first-round draft bust. Despite being listed as a starter on Dallas’ depth chart, and unlike Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas, Smith has played quite a bit in both preseason games already. Sadly, the same issues that have plagued him in his first two seasons with the Cowboys continue to do so in Year 3. Despite his natural strength and power, he’s still struggling to anchor down against the run and hasn’t shown much pass rushing upside either. Even with DT being the weak link on the Cowboys roster, Smith could still be a surprise cut.
