The Cowboys won plenty of praise for trimming their roster the hard way and keeping the players who actually earned jobs. They also added running back Emari Demercado on Monday to bolster the depth chart behind Javonte Williams, Malik Davis and Hunter Luepke.
Then came the move nobody saw coming: Joe Milton was released.
That decision alone turned roster cutdown weekend into a head-scratcher around the league. Dallas was expected to keep three quarterbacks no matter how the QB2 competition shook out, and Milton wasn’t supposed to be the odd man out on the 53-man roster. By Tuesday afternoon, the Cowboys will know whether he cleared waivers, but the bigger question is why they put themselves in this spot at all.
The Milton call was easily the most baffling move, but it wasn’t the only one that left people wondering what Dallas was thinking.
The easiest way to explain the Milton decision is that it doesn’t really make sense. If the Cowboys wanted to create room, waiving Alijah Clark - the sixth safety on the depth chart - would have been the cleaner move.
Clark is a depth piece. Milton looked like something more.
He didn’t have a perfect summer, but he clearly moved forward. Dallas could have lived with Sam Howell as QB2 if that was the preference, but Milton played well enough in camp and the preseason to at least make the conversation feel real.
The issue isn’t whether Howell might be the safer spot starter. It’s that Dallas risked losing a quarterback who had started to look like a legitimate backup, and maybe more.
The Cowboys also chose to move on from Julius Wood, and that one feels just as hard to defend.
Wood was waived for the second straight offseason, and for the second straight offseason, another team jumped in and claimed him. Last year it was the Titans.
This time it was the Dolphins. Dallas had a pretty clear chance to keep one of its best preseason defenders, and instead let him walk out the door again.
That’s the part that stings. Wood was one of the most physical players on the roster and consistently showed up against the run.
He made stops all over the field in the preseason and didn’t allow a catch in coverage. Meanwhile, Markquese Bell was the most penalized special-teams player in the NFL last season.
If merit mattered, Wood had the stronger case.
The Cowboys did a good job in plenty of other spots, including holding onto players who earned it and moving on from others who didn’t. Camden Brown and Jaydon Blue fit that logic.
Wood did not. He looked like a player who should have been on the team.
Then there’s the decision to keep rookie offensive tackle Drew Shelton.
Dallas deserves credit for reworking its tackle depth. Trading for Broderick Jones and signing Wanya Morris to the practice squad improved the room. But those moves were necessary because Shelton and Nate Thomas weren’t playable.
Shelton, in particular, never looked ready. He was beaten repeatedly in camp, then carried that into the preseason, where he finished with a 25.0 pass-blocking grade.
Still, as a fourth-round rookie, he seemed to have a spot waiting for him before camp even began. The problem is that he didn’t do anything to justify it.
He needed development, sure, but he was one of the worst players on the 90-man roster. That should not have been enough to keep him over Julius Wood.
Reddy Steward was another cut that made little sense at the time, even if the Cowboys softened the blow by bringing him back on the practice squad.
Dallas kept Caelen Carson instead, despite a preseason that featured penalties and extended drives for opposing offenses. Brian Schottenheimer said the team saw “advancement” from the third-year cornerback.
“We saw advancement,” Schottenheimer said." He found a mentor in Derrick Ansley.
The talent's always been there. We believe he fits well with what we’re trying to do schematically; a player that we see a lot of promise in, needs to clean things up (penalties)."
That explanation only sharpens the question: if Carson was the one showing progress, what exactly was Steward doing wrong? Steward had the better summer and offered more versatility.
He can line up inside, outside, and even drop to safety if needed. Carson has played just 14 career snaps in the slot compared to 405 on the outside.
That matters. Dallas appeared to be cutting a player only because another team had supposedly better talent at the position. Instead, it went with the third-year corner who was flagged four times in the preseason while facing backups.
The Cowboys at least got Steward back on the practice squad. They may not be so fortunate with Joe Milton.
In Other News...
Cowboys Just Sent A Tough Message To Jaydon Blue And Phil Mafah
The Cowboys backfield picture got a little clearer, and a little more crowded, after roster cutdown day. Dallas waived Jaydon Blue and Joe Milton, with the expectation that Milton could be brought back on the practice squad if he clears the rest of the league, while Blue and Phil Mafah did not end up being retained on the practice squad after going unclaimed on waivers. The move left the team looking to shuffle its depth at running back rather than keep everyone in the building.
Brian Schottenheimer said the decision on Blue was tied more to how other players performed than to any lack of effort from the rookie. Dallas also added Israel Abanikanda to the practice squad, giving the Cowboys another running back option to join four others already there. For Blue and Mafah, it was a tough reminder that even in a crowded camp, a roster spot is only as secure as the last practice and the last evaluation. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Just Saw Another Failed D-Line Bet End Quietly
The Dolphins have picked up defensive tackle Mazi Smith for their practice squad, a quiet landing spot for a player who entered the league with plenty of expectations. Smith, a former first-round pick by the Cowboys, was released by the Jets after a brief stay and now gets another chance to stick with a team that is looking for depth along its defensive line.
For Dallas, it is another reminder of how far the former top pick still has to go after three NFL seasons with limited production. Smiths path has already included a move out of New York and into another roster-building project in Miami, and the next step will be whether he can turn a fresh opportunity into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Jaydon Blue's Eagles Move Reopens A Cowboys What-If
Jaydon Blues path from Dallas to Philadelphia has already turned into one of those early-season roster stories that can linger around a division rival. The Cowboys moved on from the rookie during cutdowns, then did not keep him on their practice squad after he cleared waivers, leaving his next step to the Eagles, who added him to their practice squad. For Dallas, it is the kind of transaction that invites a second look, especially when a young back lands within the same NFC East neighborhood.
Blue now has to make his case in a crowded Philadelphia running back room, where opportunities are going to be hard to come by. His on-field ability is part of the appeal, but the challenge is just as clear: he has to separate himself fast enough to matter in a depth chart that does not make room easily. From the Cowboys side of the ledger, it is a familiar what-if, one of those decisions that can look routine in late August and a little more interesting once a division opponent gets involved. [Read more 🡒]