5 Cowboys on Thin Ice Despite Surviving Roster Cuts

3. Trey Lance, QB

Cowboys fans headed into the NFL offseason hoping to see what Trey Lance was made of. After all, the former 2021 third-overall pick didn't see any regular-season action after being traded to Dallas from the San Francisco 49ers last summer.

Fortunately, Lance managed to step up in spades. The North Dakota State product ended the preseason slate with an NFL-leading 662 passing yards — over 100 more than the closest player. He also paced his peers (regardless of position) with 168 rushing yards on 24 carries, finding the end zone twice along the way.

So, why is Lance still on thin ice?

To start, he hasn't started a regular-season game since 2022 and has only thrown 420 non-preseason passing attempts since the 2018 college football season. There's just no telling if he has what it takes to step up when it counts.

Secondly, there's also the fact that he still threw for five interceptions in the Cowboys' preseason finale. Even though exhibition games are meaningless at the end of the day, it's just extremely hard to find much to be positive about when it comes to that many giveaways.

Lance is also entering the final year of his contract, meaning he can't afford to make any mistakes. Prescott's future in Dallas still isn't confirmed just yet, so if Lance wants to potentially be in QB1 contention next year, he must take advantage of every opportunity whether that happens in practice or during an actual game.