3 Cowboys Veterans Who Will Be Cut Following The NFL Draft

2. Nahshon Wright, CB

The Cowboys didn't bring back Stephon Gilmore, which was a frustrating decision on their part. They did at least retain Jourdan Lewis, who played well down the stretch, so they feel good about their depth assuming Trevon Diggs is fully healed from his torn ACL.

Dallas also found some depth in the draft, which was unexpected. They reportedly considered taking Wake Forest cornerback Caelen Carson in the third round but elected to go with Cooper Beebe. That proved to be the right call since Beebe could take over as the starting center — and Carson was still there when the Cowboys were on the clock in Round 5.

Carson could prove to be a steal as the 174th overall pick but he did slide for a reason. He's dealt with injuries throughout his career which have slowed his development but he has the tools to be a press-man corner. He's also good on special teams, which could be an issue for Nahshon Wright.

The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder was drafted in Round 3 back in 2021. A favorite of Dan Quinn due to his incredible length, Wright has struggled to find a role in the base defense and was practically non-existent in 2023. He continued to play on special teams but with the addition of Carson, that could spell the end for him.

Right now, Wright's only real hope is to beat out Eric Scott, Jr. for the No. 5 spot but that's a longshot after the Cowboys traded up in 2023 to land Scott.

1. Royce Freeman, RB

Last year, the Cowboys signed Ronald Jones as insurance at running back following the departure of Ezekiel Elliott. With the former fourth overall pick being released, they were turning things over to Tony Pollard, who was coming off a broken fibula and high ankle sprain suffered in the playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Jones, a former second-round pick, had a decent resume to include 978 yards and seven touchdowns for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 when they won the Super Bowl. That wasn't enough to keep him around as he was cut in September — after serving a two-game suspension — without ever playing for Dallas.

Now in 2024, they signed another player as insurance just before the draft, Royce Freeman. This time, they were replacing Pollard who signed with the Tennessee Titans but their depth chart looked much worse with Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Malik Davis as their top three options.

Freeman, a third-round pick out of Oregon in 2018, is a powerful 238-pound back who recorded 319 yards and two touchdowns for the Los Angeles Rams last year. He might have made it as a short-yardage back but that went out the window when Elliott officially returned on Monday.

Zeke had a strong finish with the New England Patriots and had 642 yards on the ground with 313 as a receiver. He's essentially locked into a spot and Freeman will have a hard time unseating both Dowdle and Vaughn. Plus if Dallas keeps a fourth back, it will likely be fullback Hunter Luepke, meaning Freeman's best path to the team would be as a practice squad candidate down the road.

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