Cowboys Hard Knocks: Dak Looking Sharp in Season Finale, Roster Decisions

With two days before the Dallas Cowboys kickoff the 2021 season in Tampa Bay, HBO’s season finale of Hard Knocks showed an inside look at the team’s final roster decisions and preparation for the Buccaneers.

Three players the show has followed closely all season, Quarterback Ben DiNucci, OT Isaac Alarcon, and RB JaQuan Hardy all made the team’s practice squad. Defensive end Azur Kamara made the Cowboys final 53-man roster, finding out via a phone call from Head Coach Mike McCarthy.

Will McClay, Jerry Jones, and McCarthy made the decision to keep Hardy and DiNucci on the practice squad – agreeing that both would be hard to replace in free agency. Hardy was a part of the special teams meeting with John Fassel at the beginning of Hard Knocks.

Jones was also seen observing practice at The Star from his office, as Dak Prescott was a full-go before the season opener.  Prescott meeting Aiden Diggs – the son of Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs – was the highlight of the episode, picking up on last week’s scene where Diggs confused Prescott for Patrick Mahomes.

With no preseason games to feature the conclusion of Hard Knocks didn’t feature much on-field play, building up the anticipation for the team’s first game. Quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier called the plays on offense for the Cowboys against the Jaguars to end the preseason, with Kellen Moore preparing for Todd Bowles’ Bucs defense.

All of our reviews on this season of Hard Knocks can be found here.