Cowboys Make 5 Moves to Reduce Roster to 85 Players

All NFL teams had to reduce their rosters from 90 to 85 players today by 4:00 pm EST to satisfy the first of three cutdown deadlines for the 2021 preseason. The Dallas Cowboys had to make five moves to meet this deadline. Who were the victims?

It’s worth noting that Dallas actually carries one exception spot on their roster this year through the International Player Pathway Program, courtesy of Offensive Tackle Isaac Alarcon. So this meant the Cowboys were going from 91 to 86, but still meant five moves were needed.

On Sunday I speculated on what those five moves might be. It didn’t just have to be cuts as moving injured players to IR would also bring down the roster number.

Not to brag, but I was pretty darn close.

Cowboys are down to 85-man roster. FB Sewo Olonilua (neck) joins CB Reggie Robinson (toe) on injured reserve. Season over for both. LB Anthony Hines (elbow) also IR bound, but he must clear waivers first. Team additionally waived CB Kyron Brown and WR Brennan Eagles.

— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 17, 2021

I projected the IR stash for Olonilua and what will likely become one for Hines. He will just need to clear waivers before Dallas can put him on injured reserve. I also had Brown being cut as the least of the cornerbacks currently in camp.

While I didn’t know who it would be, I did predict one of the WR prospects would out as of today. I can’t really say I have any feeling about it being Eagles over any of three or four other options.

The one that I didn’t see coming was Reggie Robinson, but this seems ideal for the second-year CB as he was likely wasn’t going to find a place on the final roster. After getting bounced to safety and back to corner in the last two years, Robinson will get a clear chance to return in 2022 with his rookie contract intact.

The next cut deadline is a week from today when all teams must reduce to 80 players.