While they have until 4:00 pm EST to reach the 53-man roster limit, the Dallas Cowboys got to work Sunday with some early moves. Five players were waived or released yesterday and many more will suffer the same fate in the coming hours.
The most notable cut was QB Ben DiNucci, leaving Cooper Rush and Will Grier as the only in-house candidates to back up Dak Prescott in 2022. While the 2020 7th-round pick showed some good things in the preseason, DiNucci was still clearly bringing up the rear among the quarterbacks and wasn’t expected to make the roster.
WR T.J. Vasher was an early hype magnet from training camp but failed to shine in any of the Cowboys’ three preseason games. His 6’6″ height and wingspan remain intriguing physical attributes but it appears that Simi Fehoko, Dennis Houston, and other young prospects have passed him by for roster consideration.
Both DiNucci and Vasher remain strong candidates to be on Dallas’ practice squad, which now allows up to 16 players after recent rule modifications.
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Another potential practice squad member is DE Markaviest Bryant, who was also waived yesterday. Bryant showed some pass-rushing skills during the preseason with a sack against the Chargers and some good pressure at other times. But with Dallas already struggling to find space for a proven asset like Tarell Basham, there wasn’t much hope for a raw prospect.
Also among yesterday’s waivers were two offensive linemen, C/G James Empey and OT Amon Simon. Both were undrafted free agents this year who never stood out in the competition at their positions.
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We’re only getting started today as the Cowboys whittle down to the roster limit. While most of the moves will be releases or waivers like these, we could also see trades or players moved to injured reserve to bring the count down.
We’ll keep you up to speed on the impending flurry of activity as the Dallas Cowboys finalize their 2022 roster.
