Von Miller hasn’t been in Dallas long, but the Cowboys are already getting more out of him than just snaps off the edge.
The veteran linebacker signed after the team’s first preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks and was quickly in Oxnard for training camp in full team gear. Fans got a short look at him working through drills on the side during his first day, but the timing of the move came too fast for him to appear in the joint practice with the New Orleans Saints.
He caught up quickly, though. By Thursday, Miller was working into the Cowboys defense during team period and reportedly got pressure on the quarterback after beating offensive tackle Terence Steele, according to Nick Harris of the Fort Worth-Star Telegram.
That’s the part Cowboys fans expected. What’s stood out just as much is the part happening away from the spotlight.
Miller did not suit up for Saturday’s second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, but he was still very much involved. With Dallas already leading by a wide margin in the third quarter, cameras caught him on the sideline offering pointers to rookie linebacker Malachi Lawrence.
Miller was also hired to be a pass rush consultant for the Cowboys, and that hidden role is already starting to show. The idea is simple: he can help shape the next wave of Dallas rushers, not just contribute as a player when he’s on the field.
That kind of influence is nothing new for Miller. Since 2017, when he was still with the Denver Broncos, he has hosted his annual “Sack Summit” camp in Las Vegas. The event has drawn some of the biggest names in football, including Aaron Donald, Maxx Crosby, Calais Campbell, Cameron Jordan, DeMarcus Ware, Josh Hines-Allen and many more.
This year’s version included three current Cowboys - Quinnen Williams, Rashan Gary and Donovan Ezeiruaku - who came to learn from him. A little over a month later, Miller joined them in Dallas.
Now the Cowboys get that knowledge without anyone having to fly to Las Vegas.
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 🡒]