The Cowboys left their final preseason game with a little drama still hanging in the air.
Dallas fell 27-24 to the New Orleans Saints on Friday, but the way the game ended gave the backup quarterback race a fresh jolt. The Cowboys were down 24-9 going into the fourth quarter, then Sam Howell helped spark a rally by guiding two touchdown drives that pulled Dallas all the way back to 24-24. The comeback fell short when the Saints answered with a field goal to win it.
After that finish, it would have been easy to assume Howell had seized the edge behind Dak Prescott. Instead, head coach Brian Schottenheimer kept the competition wide open, calling the battle between Howell and Joe Milton III “neck and neck” and saying “both guys want to win the spot”, as per Calvin Watkins of Dallas Morning News.
Howell’s path to this moment has been winding. He was once the starting quarterback for the Washington Commanders, but more recently he has been a third-string option in the NFL. He was with the Philadelphia Eagles most recently, and he did not play a single snap in 2025 because Jalen Hurts stayed healthy all season.
Milton’s case looks different. The Cowboys sent a fifth-round pick to get him in April of 2025, and he served as Prescott’s backup last season. That experience gives him a clear advantage: he already knows the offense and the playbook, and Dallas may be more committed to him because of that.
Even with Howell’s late-game push and Milton’s familiarity with the system, the decision remains unsettled for now. Schottenheimer’s final call should come soon, but both quarterbacks made sure the choice was anything but simple.
In Other News...
Cowboys Lost Another Young Defensive Back They Wanted To Keep
The Cowboys first round of roster cuts came with the kind of churn that always makes these final days of August feel personal, and safety Julius Wood was one of the tougher names to see go. Dallas released several players in trimming to its initial 53-man roster, and Wood, who had flashed in the preseason and early in camp, was beaten out by Alijah Clark for one of the spots in the secondary.
Brian Schottenheimer acknowledged the human side of those decisions, which is part of what made Woods exit land harder inside the building. The Cowboys clearly saw enough in the young defensive back to want him around, but after clearing waivers he did not stay available long, as Miami stepped in and claimed him, leaving Dallas to keep sorting through the fallout of another promising defender slipping away. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Suddenly Give Up On A QB They Just Spent A Year Developing
The Cowboys made a notable roster shuffle by claiming running back Emari Demercado off waivers and, in the process, moving on from quarterback Joe Milton. Milton had spent the past year in Dallas and showed improvement during the preseason, but the club still chose to waive him even though he remains under his rookie contract for two more seasons.
Sam Howell now stands as the clear backup behind Dak Prescott for the 2026 season, giving the Cowboys a much different look in the quarterback room than they seemed poised to have when Milton arrived. If Milton clears waivers, Dallas could still keep him around on the practice squad, but for now the move suggests the team has settled on its next layer of QB depth. [Read more 🡒]
Former Cowboys Bust Might Get One More Chance To Revive His Career
As the Chargers move toward finalizing their 53-man roster, the next round of roster churn could create another landing spot for a former Cowboys first-round pick who has already changed teams once this season. Mazi Smith was recently released by the Jets, and if he clears waivers, he could surface as a practice-squad option for Los Angeles as it sorts through the final pieces of its roster.
For Dallas fans, it is another reminder of how quickly a once-promising path can turn into a search for stability. Smith has already been through a difficult start to his NFL career, but a reunion with Chargers personnel familiar with his development could give him a better runway than he has had elsewhere, even if the next step remains uncertain. [Read more 🡒]