As minicamp finishes up this week, and the Dallas Cowboys move onto the rest of the summer and training camp in mid-July, a few names on the roster should be playing like their life depends on it.
The reason being is that if they don’t, it could be the last time we see them in big D as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
One of these guys I don’t even think will make it out of the summer, but I will get into that in a moment.
DaRon Bland
DaRon Bland is the first name on the list and the biggest, the man since he got his contract can’t stay healthy, and it is right on par to do what happens with players who have ONE big year and Jerry Jones gives them a new contract.
Here is the good thing about the four-year, $92 million dollar deal that he signed just over a year ago. They can get out of it a lot easier than you might think they can.
The Cowboys can affordably get out of Bland’s deal in 2027, absorbing $12.9 million in dead cap space. Unless he completely reverts to the player we saw early in his career, Dallas is likely going to use that out.
Reports are that Bland will be ready to go for training camp, but it is starting to get old with him, and honestly, I am not sure if they are okay with the guys they have if he does not play.
I understand that Caleb Downs is going to play a lot of nickel, but Revel is still struggling to return from his torn ACL that he had back in college.
I am not saying that Bland has to set the interception return record again, but just be the guy that we fans trust to go 1v1 against the best across from you.
Luke Schoonmaker
This is the player that I am not even sure will make it out of the summer. I think Schoonmaker gets taken over by Michael Trigg, the UDFA they signed from Baylor.
Trigg had 50 catches for 694 yards and six touchdowns at Baylor last season, so it is not like he is walking in as a guy who never saw the field. The issue is his maturity.
The Cowboys are going to have to make some cuts later this summer, and if Trigg keeps it together and continues to ball out, and can work on his blocking issues, I think Schoonmaker’s time as a Dallas Cowboy will come to an end before we even kick off the season in September against the New York Giants.
Sam Williams
This last guy was a big harder for me to even put here, I could have went with George Pickens, but the fact that Dallas will probably just place the tag on him again next year is why I did not.
I went with Sam Williams because, In 2025, Williams took a step back in production after he had just one sack following 8.5 in his previous two campaigns, but he was also coming back from a torn ACL that cost him the entire 2024 campaign, so there’s hope he can rebound.
He also is facing a uphill battle when it comes to looking for snaps this season because he is becoming an outside linebacker in the new 3-4 defense under Christian Parker, so we will see how well he does, but he needs a big year.
On new DC Christian Parker: “He’s not trying to play around. He’s straight forward with what he wants, and that’s the way it’s going to be.”
I think the biggest guy to worry about on this list is Bland, because Dallas needs him to be the no. 1 guy, and if he doesn’t play like it I would say goodbye next offseason.
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