The Cowboys have plenty of moving parts right now, and the most interesting ones aren’t even on the roster yet. Across the league, there are a few names worth watching, whether Dallas is looking for cornerback help, quarterback maneuvering, or just a better way to survive the opening stretch of the season.
One possible fit is Jacksonville corner Jabbar Muhammad, who logged a lot of preseason snaps for the Jaguars and looked more active than he did a year ago. Teams targeted him often, but he held up well enough to allow only an 82.4 quarterback rating when thrown at.
He also brings value against the run, and his versatility stands out. Muhammad works mostly outside, but he can move into the slot or the box, and he has experience on a number of special teams units.
Cornerback remains a clear area of concern for Dallas. One view of the depth chart has DaRon Bland, Cobie Durant, Shavon Revel, Ameer Speed, and Caelen Carson in the mix, with former Eagles corner Adoree Jackson listed as the most likely addition.
Carson, the former Wake Forest defender, has been described as the likely 53rd man on the roster, which makes him the most vulnerable spot on the unit. Speed is also expected to draw plenty of scrutiny.
At the top, Bland and Revel offer hope for bounce-back seasons, but health questions hang over both of them, while Durant as CB2 is serviceable rather than ideal.
There’s also been no shortage of noise around a potential blockbuster involving Maxx Crosby. The trade chatter hasn’t gone away, and the idea is that if anything happens, it may not be immediate.
One view is that Crosby could use September as a kind of audition for interested teams after offseason knee surgery, which delayed his original move to the Baltimore Ravens when he failed a physical. The belief is that if he shows he’s healthy, the rumors will pick back up and eventually lead to him landing in Dallas.
Another Cowboys storyline centers on quarterback depth and what the front office may have been trying to accomplish with Joe Milton. His release and return made waves, but the move makes more sense if Dallas was testing the market.
Broaddus said Miami was among the teams calling about the Cowboys’ quarterbacks before cuts on Sunday, adding, “I was told that Miami was a team that were calling about your quarterbacks on Sunday,” and later, “But they also traded for the guy in Green Bay (Kyle McCord). But Miami was a team that was calling.”
The Steelers also came up in Cowboys-related chatter, thanks to former head coach Mike Tomlin explaining why Pittsburgh moved on from George Pickens for a third-round pick. Tomlin said, “For us, I just thought, it’s not only play, Tomlin said.
“It’s development in other areas, intangible areas.” Those intangible qualities, Tomlin said, mattered when the Steelers thought about what Pickens would look like on a lucrative second contract, since big extensions bring responsibilities beyond the box score.
And looming over all of it is the schedule. Dallas may have a good roster, but the first five weeks could shape the season in a major way.
The Cowboys open with two NFC East games, then head to Brazil, then play a “home” game against one of the AFC’s best, followed by another road game against what may be the NFL’s best defense, and then come back home on a short week to face a Buccaneers team that has been feisty lately. After that, the schedule keeps rolling with games against the Packers, Eagles twice, Seahawks, and Rams.
The point isn’t that the Cowboys are finished after Week 6. It’s that the opening run brings extra travel and timing challenges before the season even has a chance to settle in.
In Other News...
Cowboys Just Raised The Stakes On DaRon Bland And Jake Ferguson
The Cowboys have done some financial housekeeping, restructuring the contracts of Kenny Clark, DaRon Bland and Jake Ferguson to create a much cleaner path through the rest of the season. The moves opened up $19 million in cap space and pushed Dallas to $33 million in total room, giving the front office a lot more flexibility than it had just a short time ago.
Bland and Ferguson are the names that matter here beyond the bookkeeping, because the restructures also raised their dead cap hits and made an easy escape far less likely. In other words, Dallas has tied a little more of its future to both players while leaving itself with enough maneuvering room to chase a major addition if the right opportunity comes along, including a big-money defensive splash that would fit the kind of move this team has been eyeing. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Just Added A Risky New Twist To Their Tackle Battle
The Cowboys have been looking for ways to sharpen the edges of their offensive line battle, and the trade for Broderick Jones gives them another intriguing body in the mix at right tackle. Dallas sent draft picks to Pittsburgh to bring in a young player with real talent and a rsum that has already been complicated by early-career adversity, including a neck injury and stretches of uneven play. For a team trying to sort out its best five up front, Jones brings both upside and uncertainty.
What makes the move so interesting is that Jones has often looked more comfortable on the left side, even as the Cowboys are asking him to compete on the right. His technique and consistency have been part of the concern, and he is still working back strength after missing time, which makes his path to a starting job less straightforward than it might appear. For Dallas, it is another swing at finding the right answer at tackle, but it comes with the kind of risk that can reshape the whole competition. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Enter Week 1 With One Big Availability Concern
The Cowboys head into Week 1 in fairly good shape overall, but the injury report still leaves a few moving parts as the opener approaches. Defensive lineman Bullard and guard Cornelius are both in rehab mode and could still be available when the season starts, giving Dallas at least some hope that the depth chart wont be hit too hard right out of the gate.
Marist Liufau and Devin Moore are the bigger long-term absences to track. Both are on injured reserve with return designations, with Liufau working back from forearm surgery and Moore dealing with a hip injury, so the Cowboys know they will have to get through the early part of the schedule without them. For a team trying to set a tone in September, the question is less about who is ready now and more about how soon the roster can get back to full strength. [Read more 🡒]