Here is what happened to last year’s final Cowboys roster cuts

As training camp kicks off for real this week with padded practices, many a player on the Cowboys’ 90-man offseason roster is beginning to wonder what his chances are of making the roster. Realistically, for most of the UDFAs and street free agents brought in during the offseason, just making the practice squad must be considered a success.

But even those up to 16 practice squad spots are highly contested. Out of the standard 16 players, at least 10 must be rookies or second-year players, while up to six

can be veterans with unlimited accrued experience. And with teams reducing rosters in one fell swoop from 90 to 53 players, there’ll be a lot of players scrambling for jobs.

But what happens to the players who don’t get a spot on the practice squad after final cuts? Do they automatically become the proverbial grocery packers at WalMart or Target? Well, not if they made it through camp with the Dallas Cowboys, at least if last year is anything to go by.

On August 25 & 26 last year, the Cowboys released 37 players to get to the final 53. Where are those 37 players now?

I’m glad you asked. Here’s an overview of all 37 players, showing what happened to each player in 2025 and where he is today:

body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important; } body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td, body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 0px 6px !important; }

2025 final Cowboys roster cuts
Name	POS	Status 2025	Status 2026
Still on Cowboys Roster
Justin Barron*	LB	Cowboys	Cowboys
Alijah Clark*	S	Cowboys	Cowboys
Malik Davis*	RB	Cowboys	Cowboys
Princeton Fant*	TE	Cowboys PS	Cowboys
Traeshon Holden*	WR	Cowboys PS	Cowboys
DeMarvion Overshown (Reserve/PUP)	LB	Cowboys	Cowboys
Jonathan Mingo (Reserve/Injured)	WR	Cowboys	Cowboys
Shavon Revel (Reserve/NFI)	CB	Cowboys	Cowboys
Josh Butler (Reserve/PUP)	CB	Cowboys	Cowboys
Tyrus Wheat	DE	Lions	Cowboys
Still In NFL
Jalen Cropper*	WR	Cowboys PS	Saints
Rivaldo Fairweather*	TE	Cowboys PS	Cardinals
Earnest Brown*	DE	Cowboys PS	Titans
Geron Christian*	OT	Denver	Denver
Robert Rochell*	CB	Panthers	Panthers
Kemon Hall*	CB	Titans	Buccaneers
Buddy Johnson*	LB	Colts	Raiders
Saahdiq Charles*	OG	Panthers PS	Panthers
Josh Kelly	WR	Texans PS	Texans
Nick Broeker	OT	Bills PS	Bills
Tommy Akingbesote	DT	Bills PS	Bills
Hakeem Adeniji	OT	Cowboys	Ravens
Payton Turner (Reserve/Injured)	DE	Cowboys IR	Lions
UFL/CFL
Israel Mukuamu	S	Panthers	UFL
Deuce Vaughn	RB	Broncos PS	UFL
Denzel Daxon	DE	Cardinals PS	CFL
Tyler Neville	TE	—	UFL
Michael Ojemudia	CB	—	UFL
Currently out of football
Will Grier*	QB	Cowboys PS	Retired
C.J. Goodwin	ST	Cowboys	Retired
John Stephens	TE	Cowboys IR	Injury settlement
Jalen Brooks*	WR	Cardinals	—
Troy Pride	CB	Colts PS	—
Darius Harris	LB	Patriots PS	—
Mike Smith	S	—	—
La’el Collins	OT	—	—
Christian Matthew	CB	—	—

Couple of topline thoughts:

• 62% of the final cuts (23 of 37) are still on NFL rosters
• 76% (28/37) are still playing organized football in the NFL, UFL, or CFL
• Only 19% may still be looking for a team (which excludes the two retirees)

Whatever else you think of the Cowboys’ roster-building, these numbers suggest their scouting department is finding players who remain viable NFL prospects even when Dallas doesn’t have room for them.

Of course, I didn’t go through the numbers of the remaining 31 NFL teams to see how the Cowboys’ numbers stack up, but I’m confident that having 23 out of 37 “surplus” players still in the NFL today is a pretty good rate.

The players marked with an (*) were the initial 15 players the Cowboys signed to their 2025 practice squad, and the data here suggests that making the Cowboys’ practice squad is a pretty good indicator that a player will remain in the NFL.

Five of the initial 15 are still with the Cowboys today, and eight were eventually signed by another NFL team either in 2025 or 2026. Will Grier retired, so he shouldn’t count against the total, which leaves WR Jalen Brooks as the only initial practice squad signing without a team this year. That is a “success rate” of 93% for the Cowboys practice squad. Looks like having the Cowboys on your résumé doesn’t hurt.

So if you’re a down-roster guy on the Cowboys’ training camp roster, focus on making the practice squad. Last year’s numbers suggest that getting to 53 isn’t the only way to stay in the NFL. Make the practice squad, and you’ve given yourself a pretty good chance to keep the dream alive. And that’s really all anybody can ask for.