The Dallas Cowboys had to clear a roster spot after bringing in Von Miller, and the move they made landed on wide receiver Traeshon Holden.
According to Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News, Dallas waived Holden rather than placing Phil Mafah on IR/designated to return after the chest injury he suffered in the preseason win over the Seattle Seahawks. Holden’s exit came in the wake of a rough night in Seattle, where his most glaring mistake was a muffed punt that set up a Seahawks first-and-goal.
It’s a hard fall for a player who had built up real buzz a year ago in Oxnard. Holden looked like the kind of receiver who could force his way into the conversation, drawing plenty of attention from Cowboys fans and standing out in practice. But that energy never carried over into the preseason, and his lack of special teams value kept him from cracking the 53-man roster as a rookie.
There was hope he might come back this summer and change the story. Instead, Holden spent most of camp working with the second- and third-string groups, and his name didn’t come up nearly as often as it did last year.
The punt mishap was ugly, but it wasn’t the real reason Dallas moved on. He was already sitting behind Camden Brown and Jonathan Mingo on the receiver depth chart, with no clear route to the roster.
That’s what makes the decision feel so final. Holden needed a strong camp and preseason to climb back into the picture, and it never happened. The mistake in Seattle only confirmed what the coaching staff already knew.
For Brown, the release clears even more space. The Georgia Southern product has pushed himself into a strong position, and the article notes that he has made himself uncuttable. If he follows up with another good showing Saturday against Arizona, the Cowboys could decide they’ve seen enough from the rookie.
For Holden, the door in Dallas appears shut. He belongs in the NFL, but not with the Cowboys.
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Cowboys Fringe Players Already Hurt Themselves In Dallas First Roster Battle
The first Cowboys preseason test did not go especially well for a few fringe players trying to carve out a place on the 53-man roster. DJ Rogers, Langston Patterson, Traeshon Holden and Caelen Carson all came out of the opener with work to do, and the tape only added to the pressure that comes with fighting for limited spots this time of year. For a roster that still has decisions to make at several positions, those are the kinds of early-night snaps that can quickly tilt a competition.
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Adoree Jackson has emerged as a name worth watching for Dallas, particularly because he previously played under defensive coordinator Christian Parker in Philadelphia and brings experience from multiple NFL stops. The catch is that he is drawing attention elsewhere, which leaves the Cowboys in the familiar position of weighing fit, timing and competition as they try to decide whether to keep pushing on another defensive addition. [Read more 🡒]