The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their preseason schedule on Thursday night in a 17-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Most of the players who participated in the preseason affair will not make the 53-man roster, but a lot of the guys on the bubble had an opportunity to make one final push for the active roster. One player who may have played his way onto the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster is Defensive Lineman Daniel Wise.
Wise, an undrafted free agent from the 2019 NFL Draft, looked to be a player that could end up on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad. The rookie draft pick out of Kansas had a game that could influence the Cowboys’ coaching staff to keep him on the 53 when they make their final cuts on Saturday.
He had two sacks on the night and several more pressures and was one of the Dallas Cowboys most disruptive defenders. Wise played mostly from the left defensive end position but also has the flexibility to give you some 3-technique defensive tackle snaps similarly to Tyrone Crawford and Kerry Hyder.
The Cowboys coaching staff loves position flexibility and Wise has a motor that perfectly suits Rod Marinelli’s style of play. His quick get off and ability to slip through his assigned gap makes him a very intriguing player for the Cowboys to consider holding onto in lieu of another player on the roster.
It’s unlikely that the Dallas Cowboys will be able to slip Wise through waivers to the practice squad. He was a player that had a draftable grade from a lot of draft evaluators and was considered a priority free agent signing after the draft. With the Cowboys fielding phone calls from other teams about their offensive and defensive line depth, Daniel Wise himself could be a trade chip or because of his play and perhaps made it easier for the Cowboys to trade away another player.
Stephen Jones admitted on Wednesday that the Dallas Cowboys recently have been fielding calls on potential trades involving their depth in the trenches. Taco Charlton is a popular name to be on the Dallas Cowboys trade block, but he himself had a really nice game against the Houston Texans and appears destined for the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster. Tyrone Crawford, who carries a pretty substantial cap hit, is another unlikely player to be dealt or released. The Cowboys value his leadership and position flexibility. It’s also possible the Dallas Cowboys could carry only five wide receivers through the initial part of the season, though with Amari Cooper slowed by injury the last month, that also seems an unlikely scenario.
A lot could change over the next 24 hours, but for Daniel Wise to stick with the Dallas Cowboys, it seems his best bet is on the practice squad. And that’s no indictment of Wise himself. That’s just how good the Dallas Cowboys defensive line depth is in 2019. In pretty much every other year of the Rod Marinelli era, Daniel Wise would have likely made the Dallas Cowboys 53-man roster out of training camp. At both defensive end and tackle, the Cowboys are really, really good this year making it more difficult for a player like Wise to stick.
He’s had a really good camp and preseason and is one of the more interesting names to keep an eye on over the next few days. With week one fast approaching, hopefully, Daniel Wise is with the Dallas Cowboys one way or another. He’s got a lot of potential as a one-gap penetrator that could be a rotational player for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 if they’re unable to retain Maliek Collins.
Whatever Wise’s future is beyond this week, his is a bright one and a name we’ll continue to hear for years to come in the NFL. If these last few months are any indication, he’s got the work ethic to make that future happen.
