*Photo by Kieth Allison https://www.flickr.com/photos/keithallison
The Dallas Cowboys roster cuts have been completed and a few waiver wire additions have been added. Injured players Travis Frederick (C), Datone Jones (DT) and Noah Brown (WR) remain on the roster but Brown is expected to be placed on IR and Deonte Thompson (WR) recalled. Here is a look at the current 53 man roster for the silver and blue for 2018:
| Quarterback | Dak Prescott | Cooper Rush Mike White |
| Running Back | Ezekiel Elliott | Rod Smith Jamize Olawale |
| Wide Receiver | Cole Beasley Allen Hurns Michael Gallup | Terrance Williams Tavon Austin Noah Brown |
| Tight End | Geoff Swaim | Blake Jarwin Dalton Shultz Rico Gathers |
| Offensive Line | Tyron Smith Connor Williams Joe Looney Zack Martin La'el Collins | Travis Frederick Cameron Irving Adam Redmond Parker Eihnger |
| Defensive Line | DeMarcus Lawrence Antwuan Woods Tyrone Crawford Randy Gregory | Maliek Collins Datone Jones Taco Charlton Dorance Armstrong Daniel Ross |
| Linebacker | Sean Lee Jaylon Smith Damien Wilson | Leighton Vander Esch Joe Thomas Justin March-Lillard Chris Covington |
| Defensive Back | Byron Jones Xavier Woods Jeff Heath Chidobe Awuzie | Kavon Frazier Jourdan Lewis Anthony Brown Ibraheim Campbell Tyree Robinson |
| Special Teams | Brett Maher (K) Chris Jones (P) | L.P Ladouceur (LS) |
There is more than a few surprises at how the final roster has been put together thus far. The Cowboys went thin at RB, WR and CB while they kept 3 QB’s, 4 TE’s and loaded up on DL, OL and LB. The deepest position group is linebacker and the weakest in terms of quality is safety.
The most shocking roster decision was the release of the NFL’s All-time 2nd most accurate kicker Dan Bailey in favour of rookie Brett Maher. The Cowboys will save about $3 million with this move but will sacrifice a proven kicker with experience, who has made game winning kicks before. The money may have been the primary motivation for Bailey’s release or it may be that the Cowboys lost confidence in him following his 2017 struggles. Either way, it is was an unexpected move that comes with great risk. Jason Garrett constantly preaches that he wants the “right kind of guys” on his team, yet he cuts a team captain like Dan Bailey while keeping guys like David Irving, Randy Gregory and now Rico Gathers. There is no doubt there exists a culture of tolerance for lack of discipline on the Dallas Cowboys. No wonder the Cowboys lead the league in games lost to suspension during the Jason Garrett’s era. (see below)
I was among many fans hoping that the Cowboys would keep Rico Gathers on the roster despite his inability to block. I was hoping that they would get creative and find a way to use his unique skill set as a red zone weapon. I did not expect the Cowboys to keep him on the team though, even before he was arrested on Friday. It was not a wise decision on Gather’s part to be arrested for possession of marijuana the day before roster cuts. This was at a time he was considered on the roster bubble. It does not bode well for Gather’s maturity and motivation to succeed. Despite this indiscretion, and as of September 1st, Rico Gathers remains on the Dallas Cowboys 53 man roster.
Defensive End is a position loaded with depth and talent. The addition of Randy Gregory has given the Dallas Cowboys faithful the belief that our pass rush can be dominant. If Gregory can stay clean and avoid any trouble then all signs indicate that could be the case. Unfortunately, All it will take is one mistake and the Cowboys will regret giving Gregory another chance while cutting players like Kony Ealy and Charles Tapper. Luckily, the Cowboys were fortunate enough to be able to secure the oft injured Tapper to the practice squad in case his services are required.
The Cowboys addressed their depth concerns at OL and safety via the waiver wire process adding Ibraheim Campbell (S) and Adam Redmond (C/G). But, while the starting OL still looks solid, safety is still a disaster. At offensive line, Cowboy fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Chaz Green is gone for good but the new swing tackle Cameron Flemming has not looked all that great as his replacement. With regards to the safety position, Cowboy fans are still waiting for an Earl Thomas trade to save their secondary. Unfortunately, that may not be in the cards. Sadly, anything short of adding Thomas really has me worried about the back end of this defense for this season.
There is the great concern among the fan base about the backup QB situation. Neither Cooper Rush or Mike White have looked great in the preseason playing behind the Cowboys brutal second string OL. The Cowboys have opted not to bring in an experienced veteran and to ride it out with the young guys. If Dak Prescott stays healthy then there is nothing to worry about. If Dak does get hurt, then the Cowboys could be in for a repeat of the 4–12 2015 season, even if they do bring in veteran QB at that point.
Overall, I am happy with this roster and optimistic about the Cowboys chances for success in 2018. The success of the offense is contingent on the health of the Offensive Line starters, Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott. On the defensive side of the ball, the depth on the front seven and the potential for a solid pass rush will hopefully make up for the major weakness at safety and the lack of a dominant run stopping presence on the interior defensive line.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode