Jordan Hudson gave the Cowboys one last preseason flash on Friday night, but his future still looks unsettled.
Dallas dropped its final exhibition game, 27-24, to the New Orleans Saints, and roster cuts can start as early as Saturday. That puts a lot of players on the edge, including Hudson, the rookie wide receiver who finally had his moment in the fourth quarter.
Hudson caught two deep balls from Sam Howell, one of them a touchdown, and those were the first real highlights of his preseason. For a player who has been fighting to stand out, it was a welcome burst of production.
Even so, the odds of Hudson landing on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster remain slim. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent and has not done enough to force the issue. Through two preseason games, he has three catches for 23 yards, and he is not in the mix for a roster spot.
There is, however, another path. Hudson was among the players granted TRO against the NCAA, opening the door for him to enter the transfer portal and return to college football. If Dallas moves on from him and no other NFL team claims him, that option could become very real.
The Cowboys could also keep him around on the practice squad, which would leave Hudson with a decision: stay in the NFL and make $13,750 a week, or head back to college, where he might have a stronger financial opportunity in 2026. If he chooses the college route, he would not be eligible for next year’s draft and would become a free agent again after that season ends.
For now, Hudson still has one more chance to make a case for himself in the Cowboys’ final exhibition game. After that, the next few days will tell the story. If the NFL door closes, he at least has another route waiting.
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Saints Backfield Suddenly Has A New Reason For Optimism
Within days of arriving in New Orleans, Zamir White was already part of the conversation in the Saints backfield. The running back came over from the San Francisco 49ers in a player-for-player trade and got on the field quickly enough to make an impression in the Saints final preseason game, a 27-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys. With injuries thinning out the room, the team needed signs that the ground game could still hold together, and White offered one right away.
He needed only his second carry in a Saints uniform to find the end zone, breaking off an 11-yard touchdown that added a little more life to a rushing attack that had been searching for stability. The performance came with contributions from several backs, which is exactly the kind of depth New Orleans has been trying to build while navigating the injury issues around it. For a unit that entered the preseason with questions, Whites fast start gave the Saints a reason to feel better about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Saints End Preseason With Two Roster Questions Suddenly Worth Watching
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Now the attention shifts from the scoreboard to the roster, where a couple of position battles have become suddenly more interesting after the way the preseason wrapped. The Saints still have decisions to make before the regular season arrives, and the encouraging part is that several players gave the staff something to think about in a game that mattered more for standing than for style. [Read more 🡒]
Spencer Rattler Just Made The Saints Backup QB Battle Real
Spencer Rattler gave the Saints something to think about in Week 3 of the preseason against the Cowboys, and he did it with the kind of steady, efficient work that stands out in a crowded quarterback room. After earlier struggles, Rattler completed 8 of 10 passes for 79 yards and added a rushing touchdown, showing enough poise to keep the backup competition from feeling like a formality.
Zach Wilson still sits in the mix, and the job is far from settled, but Rattlers performance added real energy to a battle the Saints have been monitoring closely. With roster decisions still ahead, New Orleans suddenly has a tougher call to make than it did a few days ago, and the final answer at quarterback may come down to which player can keep this momentum going when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]