The Dallas Cowboys preseason concluded last night with a 27-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints, dropping the team’s summer record to 2-1. Of course, the outcome doesn’t matter here at all, but the player performances do.
Right now, the front office and coaching staff are trying to sort out their final 53-man roster before Week 1 of the regular season comes around, and this game was big for making those final few decisions.
Here, I’ll go over a couple of the standouts from last night’s matchup and how it may affect the Cowboys’ roster as we enter September.
1. Sam Williams & Tyrus Wheat: Depth Chart Battle Shines
Williams: 6 Total Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Tackle for Loss. / Wheat: 4 Total Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Tackle for Loss.
One of the biggest roster battles coming into this game was the last EDGE spot between Sam Williams, Tyrus Wheat, and Marist Liufau. Many even considered this solely a Williams/Liufau battle, but the latter went down with a fractured wrist during the game last night.
Then, Wheat, who has been quietly having a great preseason, showed up with another great performance last night. Williams did as well, so now you might just see Liufau go to the IR and Dallas pick one of the two remaining EDGEs.
Whichever way it turns out in the end, these two put on quite a final showing as they fought to make their case to make the Dallas 53-man roster.
2. Jordan Hudson: Crazy Game From Roster Long-Shot
Hudson: 4 Receptions, 97 Yards, 1 TD, 24.3 Yards per Reception.
Nobody is banking on UDFA signing Jordan Hudson making the roster, but boy did he put on a show last night.
The former TCU and SMU WR from Garland, Texas, signed with the Cowboys after the NFL Draft in April as a priority FA, but he’s been overshadowed by guys like Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo this summer. Last night, he finally got to show his stuff.
In just four catches, Hudson had nearly 100 yards and a touchdown, and while it won’t be enough to buy him a permanent spot in Dallas, you can bet this team wants him on the practice squad come September.
3. Sam Howell: Veteran QB Keeps QB2 Battle Competitive
Howell: 12/18, 155 Passing Yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs.
After a strong preseason, Joe Milton seemed to have a unanimous consensus on the QB2 battle over veteran Sam Howell, but the latter seemed to put himself back in the race last night.
Howell was ridiculously effective and threw two touchdowns without turning the ball over once.
Is Milton still the likely QB2? Yes. Did this performance last night likely make Dallas go over this again? Absolutely.
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