Former Alabama and Oregon wide receiver Traeshon Holden has been one of the most talked-about Cowboys this month.
An undrafted free agent signing this April, Holden immediately caught the fanbase’s attention before ever stepping on the field. His collegiate stat sheet and highlight tape provided the hype, but his performance is now sustaining it.
Holden, 23, has shined in training camp and in-game; his two catches for 42 yards led all Cowboys receivers against the Rams on Saturday.
Brian Schottenheimer even proclaimed that we will see Holden “moving up the depth chart.”
There is only one problem: his odds of making the 53-man roster are still low.
The Hard Reality: Traffic Jam At WR Likely Leaves Holden Behind
Even if you move Traeshon Holden up in Dallas’s wide receiver room, he is still not on the 53-man roster after cuts. Let’s do some basic Cowboys roster math here.
CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, and Jonathan Mingo are all near locks to make the roster. That’s five receivers before you even start considering anybody else.
If history tells us anything, Dallas will likely keep six, as they’ve done the last couple of years. That leaves one spot remaining for Holden to grab.
His main competition for it? Second-year wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, who had a fine performance himself against the Rams, and held one of those six spots as a rookie in the 2024 season.
Brian Schottenheimer said some players will get moved on the depth chart including WR Traeshon Holden. It's hard to see how Holden makes the 53, but we got 2 more preseason games to go.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 10, 2025
Flournoy, by all training camp estimations, has improved from last year. Would Dallas really cut him in favor of an undrafted free agent?
Holden’s NFL Interest: If Cut, Pathway Back To Dallas Is Unlikely
Outrage over one of the fanbase’s favorites being cut in August, only for him to return to the practice squad, is a yearly tradition at this point.
The hard truth is, most of the time, fans overrate their players, and their league-wide interest isn’t nearly what the expectation is. In the case of Holden, that may be the opposite after the roster cuts go down.
It’s hard to envision a world where some wide receiver-needy team doesn’t find a spot on the active roster for Holden.
Very few teams have a Lamb and Pickens-esque duo heading up their receiver room.
This means their decision to cut Holden, if it comes to that, also carries the weight of letting another team have him and his high potential. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but it may soon be the reality for the Dallas Cowboys.
Um, maybe. On the other hand, I think Tolbert is the WR most in jeopardy. What has he done with the chances he’s been given? If he finishes camp even with Mingo, the tie goes to Mingo. The top (3) WRs are set. Lamb, Pickens, Turpin. If they keep (6), it would add Mingo, Flournoy and Holden. I’d go with trio with better upside. Tolbert is what he is…
Tolbert has done plenty with the chances he was given!! He jumped to WR2 last year when Cooks was injured, and he lead the team in touchdown receptions last year, and he was 2nd in receiving yards, behind only Lamb!! So he’s done enough to keep his spot on the roster!! And I’m not sure how you get that the tie between him and Mingo would go to Mingo, there’s nothing that would make that be true except maybe the contract situation since this is Tolberts last year!! But as far as making plays, Tolbert has been a better receiver than Mingo!! So I don’t see Mingo jumping Tolbert on the depth chart!! And technically, even though Turpin is on the roster as the WR3, he’s more of a gadget player, so he’s not gonna be playing receiver all the time, so really, Tolbert is WR3 and Turpin is the kick/punt returner!! And Turpin will just play a little bit of WR and RB every now and then too!! So he’s not really WR3, that’s Tolberts spot!! Or at worst, Turpin and Tolbert will split WR3 duties!! But either way, Tolbert is ahead of everybody except Lamb and Pickens!!
Respectfully, Mingo has created more buzz plays in camp than Tolbert. This is a season to season league. Tolbert put up those stats last year, but what other options were there? If they double CeeDee and Ferguson is out/injured, where else is the ball supposed to go.
Look, I’m glad for this to go either way. But as you pointed out, if they end camp even, the tie goes to Mingo because of the contract.
Turpin will be on the field more than you think! Look at the way he’s being used in camp.
All I’m saying is not so fast on Holden not making the team. His path is tied to Tolbert not beating out Mingo or Flournoy.
Jalen Tolbert has not been a lightening rod lately, how is he such a lock on the roster? Holden has out performed Tolbert on many levels at practice and in that last exhibition game against the Rams. Why, just because he was a 3rd round draft pick several years ago? If the Cowboys release him it will confirm that Jones will be contented with mediocrity on his ball club.