The preseason comes to a close this weekend when the Dallas Cowboys take on the Atlanta Falcons. Many of the starters, including Dak Prescott, will once again be on the sidelines watching from kickoff.
That being said, things have not been pretty the first two weeks on either side of the ball, and with final roster cuts coming soon, a few players for the Cowboys will need to have a good showing in this game tomorrow.
Joe Milton
I will start with the guy who has gotten the start in every preseason game and has not performed well at all.
Let me first start by saying that he is not in any danger of not making the roster or anything like that, but let’s be real here, he is fighting to be the backup. He will probably win it, but I don’t know about you.
If Dak Prescott goes down again I will have zero confidence in him to step in and lead this offense.
He has not been good.
Not sure if Trey Lance is a better option than Joe Milton. Need to see one more game to make a better determination. Maybe.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 19, 2025
Against the Ravens last Saturday, he finished with 122 yards and an interception on 9 of 18 passing and in the first preseason game he was 17-for-29, throwing for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Both games were ugly and the offense could not so much as move the ball down the field at all.
Joe needs to play well in this game to just give himself some confidence, but I have no faith in him as of now if he needed to take over for Dak like some of these fans wanted so badly to happen.
James Houston
A guy that has been awesome in the first two preseason games is James Houston, and I honestly think he has done enough to make the roster, yet he may still be on the outside looking in.
This game tomorrow could determine whether he makes the team or not.
Payton Turner and Tyus Wheat are the two guys that are ahead of him currently and I think this may be the most difficult spot on the roster to make the cut.
The former sixth-round pick of the Detroit Lions has been attempting to get back to his rookie self. In his rookie season back in 2022, Houston had 8 sacks for the Lions in just seven games.
I really like him and has become one of my favorites this offseason, I hope he plays well tomorrow and does enough to make the team.
Any WR3
Yes, I understand I said three Cowboys, but I am lumping these final two together as one.
Jonathan Mingo is likely to start the season on injured reserve because of a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee suffered in last week’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens.
He is looking at a recovery period of four to six weeks, if not longer, according to a source.
That means the other wide receivers on the roster have a huge chance to move and provide some important snaps when the season starts.
Right now, I would think that Jalen Tolbert has now moved firmly into the WR3 role, but guys like Ryan Flournoy, Jalen Brooks, and Traeshon Holden have a great chance to prove why they should be the next guy in line.
Brooks has made the team in each of the last two years and Flournoy was on it last year.
Both are special team guys, but with the injury to Mingo, one of these guys are probably going to move up and be needed at some point in the first few weeks of the season, so keep an eye on these guys tomorrow.
I will be tuned in to watch all these unfold, and you should to.
This team better come up with a good showing tomorrow, b/c right now they look mediocre, at best, and maybe for getting a little momentum going into the regular season. I understand many starters are sitting out, but did anyone see the body language of the HC on the sidelines last game. Not very inspiring.
I don’t worry about how things look in the preseason!! Idk if you noticed or not, but in the last maybe 10 years or so, when we have a bad preseason, we end up having a really good regular season!! I’m not really sure why it happens, but it does!! I remember every time we lose every preseason game, we end up going to the playoffs because of how good we play in the preseason!! So I wouldn’t look too much into how we look in the preseason!!
I really hope Holden does enough to win a roster spot!! I have a feeling that if we don’t keep him on the roster, he’s not gonna be available to bring back to the practice squad!! He’s looked too good for every other team to pass on signing him!! So I think we need to keep him on the 53 man roster if we wanna keep him!!
And I don’t think James Houston will be good enough to make the roster!! He has been good in the preseason, but he has too many other players ahead of him on the roster!! And if it come down to choosing between him and Payton Turner, I think they’ll choose the former 1st round pick over the former 6th round pick!! It just makes sense that they would think that they could get more out of a former 1st round pick, than they can a former 6th round pick!! That’s just the way I think they’ll go about it if they end up choosing between them 2!! But it’s possible they only keep 5 edge rushers and neither Turner or Houston make the team!! And I think that’s the way it’s gonna end up working out!!
And I’m not really sure what to say about Milton!! He’s obviously not playing his best football right now!! We all seen how good he can be when he played his first game for the patriots in the last game of the season!! He did better in that one game than he has in both preseason games put together!! So I think he mite just be a better player during the season than he is in the preseason!! Dak was the same way!! He hardly ever looked good in the preseason and in practices in his first hand full of years in the NFL, but when he started playing in the regular season, he was a totally different player…. A lot better of a player!! So maybe that’s how Milton will be!! But even if that is possible, another thing that’s possible is that he’s just taking longer to learn this offense!! When he played his first game for the patriots, it was in week 18, so he had all of preseason and 17 more weeks of practice through the regular season, so he had a lot of time to learn that offense!! So maybe that’s why he looked better for the patriots than he does right now for us!! There’s plenty of reasons why he doesn’t look so good right now, but I think it’s one of the reasons I just mentioned!! But only time will tell if I’m right or not!!
How do you justify Turner the former first round pick of the Saints as having an edge on Houston a 6th round pick of the Lions? Just because he was an earlier pick does not give him an advantage over Houston. Those last two exhibition games Houston has done more to solidify his spot on the 53 man roster. Remember now, Turner has been slowed by shoulder problems the last several years in NO. I just have not seen much of an impact player from him while in a Cowboy uniform. Oh yes, he looks impressive 6 ft 6 270 lbs, but I am not seeing any of the speed and tenacity he brought to the Saints when they drafted him their number one pick out of the University of Houston. Houston should by all intents and purposes earned his job on the Cowboys. But of course, it’s the Jones’ front office that will be the deciding factor – not the HC.
I agree with you! I am saying it in terms of what Jerry would do. He traded for a former first round pick, so he will do anything to try and make sure his way works and nothing else. I hope Houston gets the spot over Turner!
a Dallas Cowboys fan, since the 70’s the Cowboys on this list gets cut they can go play up in the Canadian Football League or the U.F.L. to keep there skills sharp