Cowboys preseason is less than 30 days away, these veterans should be sweating

Yes, I understand it means absolutely nothing, and it will be players that don’t even make the roster, but the Dallas Cowboys play a football game in less than 30 days.

The first preseason game for Dallas takes place on August 15th in Seattle against the Seahawks.

Regardless of what I said at the top, these games remain important for players that are on the bubble of making the final 53-man roster, and with only three preseason games now, we might actually see some players we know.

With that said, there will be ample opportunity for younger players to steal spots on the roster. That being the case, here’s a look at three veterans who are in danger of losing their job.

Jonathan Mingo

Jonathan Mingo should be at the top of the list for every single person. Jerry Jones traded a 4th round pick for a WR who has done nothing short of keeping the bench warm.

Last season, Mingo spent weeks as a healthy scratch and didn’t make his season debut until Week 12. He was active for six of Dallas’ final seven games, but managed just one catch for 25 yards while playing just 18 percent of the snaps.

If you needed more proof that Mingo is skating on thin ice, the Cowboys removed the $812,000 workout bonus that was
In the contract he signed when he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers. He’s on the books for a non-guaranteed $1.145 million in 2026.

https://twitter.com/FantasyPtsData/status/2078155180999115210?s=20

Guys, this is not hard to understand. I would much rather have a guy like Anthony Smith, the rookie out of East Carolina, make the roster. At least we know if he gets on the field he can just use his speed and try and outrun someone on a deep ball.

Joe Milton

The preseason, in my honest opinion, is going to determine who wins the QB2 role with the Dallas Cowboys.

The only edge that Milton has over Sam Howell is his huge arm and ability to run, etc. and that might not be enough. Look, I hope neither of these guys have to even start a game this season, but Howell has real game experience.

If Prescott were to miss time. Howell’s stats don’t jump out at you; He sports a 5-13 career record as a starter with a 62.6 completion percentage and has thrown more interceptions than TDs (23-22), but he has never played on an offense this talented with the weapons at his disposal in his career.

I just think that the month of August is going to be huge for Milton, and he could be on the brink of losing his job as the Dallas Cowboys backup QB.

Joe Milton III and Sam Howell split reps with the second-team unit today as they duke it out for the QB2 job.

Milton: "In the league, you gotta compete every day. No matter where I end up or where he ends up, you gotta compete. Nothing is just given to you."

Howell: "To me, it… pic.twitter.com/cJKSuqKdwD

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) June 9, 2026

My guess would be that both of these guys play all three of these games starting in Seattle. Milton will probably get the start, and then Howell gets the second half, but both of these guys need to start off strong if they want to make the Cowboys coaching staff think that they should be the guy to back up Dak Prescott when the season starts in September.

Other guys, like Malik Hooker and Kavontae Turpin, I think are a little bit more safe than the two guys above.

Because the Cowboys secondary is so bad, Hooker might have a chance to sneak out a roster spot even if he is just not the same player he was years ago.

Turpin, on the other hand, is a guy that, if he got cut, would shock me the most, but it has been on the radar a little bit this summer. His performance since signing that deal, like every Cowboys’ player, declined, and he did not a good return a year ago.

That is the one place that the Cowboys need him to be great.

Training camp starts soon, and we will have more to talk about, but we are close with preseason being less than a month away, and honestly, with how drama free this offseason has been, I am ready for football for once.