Hunter Luepke has quietly become one of the safest bets on the Cowboys’ roster, even if he’s still not getting much attention.
The only reason his name has been in the news lately is because newly signed Dallas Cowboy Von Miller wants his roster number. That’s going to be a problem for Miller, because Luepke doesn’t look like he’s giving it up at final cuts.
The fullback has settled in as a steady piece of the Dallas offense, and everything points to him sticking around again in 2026. That matters in a league where true fullbacks are fading fast, but Luepke has carved out enough value to stay in the mix.
Saturday’s preseason game in Seattle offered another clue. The Cowboys rested almost all of their starters, and Luepke was among those sitting out.
Dallas did give TE D.J. Rodgers and a few others a chance to work as backfield blockers, but that felt more like evaluation than competition.
His contract tells the same story. Luepke is one of only five fullbacks in the league making what counts as premium money at the position, with a $3.5 million per year deal. That puts him alongside Patrick Ricard (Giants), Alec Ingold (Chargers), Kyle Juszczyk (49ers), and Reggie Gilliam (Patriots) as one of the top earners at fullback.
And if the Cowboys decided they wanted to move on, the financial side doesn’t really help them. There would still be $3.5 million in dead money on the books, while his 2026 cap hit sits at just $3 million.
That doesn’t make him untouchable, but it does remove any real cap incentive to cut bait.
There’s also a case that Luepke’s role could grow. When Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams took over the offense last year, the expectation was that the fullback would be used even more. Instead, his workload actually dipped.
He played on 30% of Dallas’ offensive snaps in 2024, then dropped to 21% last season.
The shift makes sense in context. Dallas leaned into the run and play-action more, but the offense also found another gear when George Pickens arrived. With Pickens and CeeDee Lamb commanding so much defensive attention, it became easier to spread the field with more receivers and tight ends.
Luepke can catch the ball, but he doesn’t force defenses to account for him the way Ryan Flournoy, KaVontae Turpin, or even a second tight end can.
The Cowboys also had to keep pace because of how rough their defense was. When you’re spending more time playing from behind, or simply don’t trust the other side of the ball, the answer is usually to score fast and score often.
That’s where Luepke becomes more useful. When Dallas can afford to lean on the clock and control possession, he fits better. If the defense improves, that kind of offense becomes much more realistic.
There’s also room for Klayton Adams to get more creative in year two with the playbook. A versatile fullback can be a real weapon off run looks and play-action, and Luepke could be even tougher to deal with if expectations are lower.
So even if his role stays about the same, Hunter Luepke looks set for at least one more year in Dallas. The only real mystery left is whether he’ll be wearing a different jersey number by Week 1.
In Other News...
Eagles Rookie Is Giving Cowboys Fans A Reason To Laugh
Training camp has already given Cowboys fans one small comfort in Philadelphia, and it comes courtesy of a rookie tight end who was supposed to help stabilize the Eagles passing game. Eli Stowers, a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has instead spent much of camp and the preseason fighting to find his footing, with his blocking and receiving both drawing scrutiny as the Eagles try to sort through a depth chart battered by injuries at receiver.
For Dallas, the details are almost beside the point. Any time a division rival invests premium draft capital and then sees the early returns wobble, it invites the kind of unflattering comparisons that stick around, and Stowers has already been mentioned in the same breath as JJ Arcega-Whiteside, another second-round Eagles pick who never lived up to the billing. The bigger issue for Philadelphia is immediate pressure, because the injuries around him leave the rookie with even less margin for error as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Have A Real Roster Decision At Two Key Spots
The Cowboys got a useful look at a few roster battles in their second preseason game, and it did more than just fill out the exhibition calendar. Joe Milton kept building his case to be the backup quarterback, while wide receivers Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo both put themselves in the conversation for final roster spots. With cutdowns approaching, Dallas is watching not just who plays well, but who keeps stacking productive snaps when the competition gets tighter.
Snap counts are becoming part of the conversation too, which is usually a sign the decisions are getting real. The Cowboys are sorting through a deeper receiving mix and weighing how much value each player brings beyond one good night in August, and they are also open to exploring trades if that helps shape the 53-man roster. For a team trying to balance upside, depth and certainty, the next few evaluations may matter as much as anything that happened in the preseason opener. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Face A Tough QB Roster Decision
Dak Prescott is locked in as the Cowboys starter, but the competition behind him has become one of the more interesting roster questions in camp. Sam Howell and Joe Milton III have both put together strong preseason stretches, enough to make Dallas at least consider carrying all three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster even though teams usually prefer to keep just two.
Todd Archer of ESPN projects that possibility, and it speaks to how much the backup battle has shifted from a routine depth issue to a real decision point. The Cowboys still have not settled the spot behind Prescott, and with the preseason winding down, the outcome is less about naming a favorite and more about deciding whether either Howell or Milton has done enough to force an extra quarterback onto the roster. [Read more 🡒]