In the coming weeks, over 1,000 players around the NFL are going to be cut. For many players, roster spots are still going to be up for grabs entering this final week of the preseason, and the Dallas Cowboys have a number of significant and interesting roster situations to watch play out.
Which players are on the bubble after Dallas's preseason win against the Las Vegas Raiders? Who is fighting for their roster life in the preseason finale? For some, a big game to close out the preseason could be the difference between a Week 1 role or a trip to the waiver wire and possibly the practice squad.
Let's look at a handful of Cowboys players who could swing either way as we get into the final week of hte preseason.
1. Cooper Rush, quarterback
After throwing just three passes against the Las Vegas Raiders, you can't help but wonder a little bit if Cooper Rush is on the trade block. At the very least, he's on the roster bubble for the Cowboys. Keeping three quarterbacks isn't the best use of roster spots in the NFL these days, but the Cowboys could probably justify it with how solid Rush has been for them when called upon in recent years.
Still, the team is much more heavily invested in Trey Lance at this point, and it's time to take that working relationship to the next level. As in, it's time to let Lance be active during games as Dak Prescott's backup quarterback. It's time for Cooper Rush to get a shot elsewhere, and there are other teams where he'd probably be a huge upgrade in the QB2 spot. The Chargers are one team that immediately comes to mind.
The Cowboys can use the roster spot elsewhere. They only need two quarterbacks and cutting or trading Rush seems to be the right move after the preseason.
2. Donovan Wilson, safety
Alright, let's talk a little bit about a scenario that might not exactly excite all of Cowboys fandom. The time may have come for this team to take advantage of its seemingly enviable depth at the safety position and move on from somebody.
Not just for the sake of moving on, of course, but the Cowboys could add some much-needed salary cap space and either some more NFL Draft assets or other player assets if they moved on from someone like veteran safety Donovan Wilson.
And there are a number of safeties who could make sense in this slot. But Wilson, who turned 27 in March, could be the perfect trade candidate. We have to first discuss -- beyond just cap savings and draft pick compensation -- what would motivate the Cowboys to make a move like this.
The primary motivation would be to increase the snaps of the other talented players in the defensive backfield. Malik Hooker, Juanyeh Thomas, Markquese Bell, and Israel Mukuamu are all quality players who deserve a spot in the rotation somewhere, and Wilson has a chance to be the odd man out thanks to the salary cap savings if the Cowboys trade him.
If Dallas is able to find a trade partner for Wilson, they would save $5.72 million on the salary cap. Not that a move like this is going to immediately help Dallas get a deal done with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb or quarterback Dak Prescott, but you never know...
The Cowboys could also be facing the tough situation of just flat-out cutting one of their safeties. And those guys are too good for that. Whether it's someone like Donovan Wilson or maybe even Israel Mukuamu, I think we could end up seeing a safety traded by Dallas.
3. Deuce Vaughn, running back
Deuce Vaughn's roster status may be clearer for the Cowboys than it is from the outside looking in, but this is definitely one of those players you look at, and feel like things could go either way in the next week or so.
Vaughn is such a fun player, and has been since he was at Kansas State. There's no doubt that the former K-State star has explosiveness to him, and we saw that on display in the preseason game against the Raiders as Vaughn averaged 6.8 yards per carry.
With that being said, Vaughn seems to have fallen to at least fourth in the pecking order at running back for the Cowboys behind the likes of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, and even Royce Freeman. Freeman has impressed head coach Mike McCarthy this offseason and looks like he might be in line to play a big role both offensively and on special teams.
Because of the sheer size difference, Freeman may have a substantial advantage over someone like Deuce Vaughn. But Vaughn's quickness and speed certainly catch your attention when he's able to break off some runs like we saw in the preseason game against Las Vegas. I don't think the Cowboys are going to give up on Vaughn that easily, but how much of a threat is he really to be picked up by another team off of waivers?
Have we seen so much from Vaughn at this point to really think that another team would poach him? The Cowboys could try to sneak him through waivers onto the practice squad but if they're afraid someone's going to snatch him, they might be willing to overload at this position on the initial 53-man roster.
4. Jalen Cropper, wide receiver
What is the state of the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver position right now? Well, things are a little unstable and unsteady, to say the least.
It all starts with CeeDee Lamb at the top. Are the Cowboys going to do what it takes to make Lamb happy with them? I think at this stage, we all just expect Lamb to be back and working as the #1 overall target for Dak Prescott once again.
Behind Lamb, Brandin Cooks could be in line for a much bigger year than we saw from him last year. And even though Cooks had eight touchdowns a season ago, it's probably not unfair to say that he wasn't exactly the most consistent we've seen him throughout the course of his NFL career.
The Cowboys are buying the Jalen Tolbert hype again this year, and 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks has had a good offseason as well. We could see someone like 2023 undrafted free agent Jalen Cropper on the roster bubble with other players in contention for a spot at receiver. One of the ways you find yourself off the roster bubble and on the waiver wire is lack of ball security.
Cropper had a fumble on a punt return opportunity and the Raiders recovered. With rookie Ryan Flournoy having a few plays against the Raiders as well and even Racey McMath getting into the mix, it might soon be the waiver wire for Cropper. He needs to have a bounce-back week in the final preseason game.
5. Snoop Conner, running back
It might be time to take Snoop Conner off the roster bubble and put him on the "maybe practice squad" list. It's not that Conner doesn't have talent, either. The former Ole Miss running back wasn't even a full-time starter at the college level and still managed to become a fifth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 NFL Draft.
But he has failed to impress during the preseason with a golden opportunity staring him straight in the face as the Cowboys sort out their running back depth. Here's what our friends over at The Landry Hat had to say about Conner's performance against the Raiders:
"Conner was drafted by the Jaguars in the fifth round in 2022 but was waived after the 2023 preseason. After Jacksonville did not re-sign him, Dallas signed him to a future contract. Conner is one of the low men on the depth chart next to rookie Nathaniel Peat.
With Deuce Vaughn also having a solid night in Vegas and now healthy, Conner's days as a Cowboys could be numbered. He will more than likely see more snaps in week three, but he will still likely be splitting carries again with Peat and Malik Davis. With a crowded running back room, Conner's stock is continuing to fall as the team determines who will be part of this running back by committee approach."
- Maitland Rutledge, The Landry Hat
Needless to say, it's not looking good for Conner as the Cowboys likely keep all of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Royce Freeman, and Hunter Luepke on the 53-man roster. And Deuce Vaughn, as previously mentioned, is also going to make a strong case when the Cowboys are having their personnel meetings.
Even though Conner was a fifth-round pick in a recent NFL Draft, his best shot might be catching on with another team on the practice squad.
6. Viliami Fehoko, EDGE
Even though we're talking about players who are on the "roster bubble", it might be fair to say that Viliami Fehoko is just straight-up bound for the practice squad.
The Cowboys are making moves lately that indicate as such.
Not only did we see a really strong game from rookie second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland against the Raiders in Week 2 of the preseason, but we also got word last week that the Dallas Cowboys were adding veteran free agent Carl Lawson off the edge.
That is a savvy move by the Cowboys, who had also added Al-Quadin Muhammad to the defensive front shortly after the team lost Sam Williams to a season-ending injury. The Cowboys' addition of Lawson gives them another solid veteran piece up front and a player who has a lengthy history of racking up a lot of quarterback hits. You would have thought that the injury to Sam Williams would really pave the way for Fehoko -- who was an absolute terror for opposing quarterbacks at San Jose State -- but it hasn't been the case.
But the situation for Fehoko right now might end up being that he has to catch on with another NFL team. Being that he was a fourth-round pick just last offseason, Fehoko probably has a good shot of getting claimed off of waivers as the ink is still drying on his scouting report from a year ago. The Cowboys have loaded up their defensive front to the point that they almost have no choice but to try to sneak him through waivers, but if they subject him to waivers, they're obviously okay losing him.
Unless he goes bonkers in the final preseason game, his roster bubble is about to burst.