Preseason games are typically good indicators of who will and who won’t make the team when the roster is finally trimmed to 53. Sure, there may be a surprise or two but as this preseason schedule moves along, we will get a better idea of who will be running out of that tunnel come Sept. 7 against the 49ers.
In case you missed the previous projections following week 1 of the preseason: Mike Harlos – Jonathan Day.
Without further delay, please see my version 1.0 of what this roster will look like. I will put another one together after the second preseason game.
| QB | Tony Romo, Brandon Weeden, Dustin Vaughan |
| RB | DeMarco Murray, Lance Dunbar, Joseph Randle |
| FB | Tyler Clutts |
| WR | Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Dwayne Harris, Cole Beasley, Devin Street, Chris Boyd |
| TE | Jason Witten, Gavin Escobar, James Hanna |
| O Line | Tyron Smith, Ronald Leary, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Doug Free, Mackenzy Bernadeau, Uche Nwaneri, Jeremy Parnell |
| D Line | George Selvie, Henry Melton, Terrell McClain, Tyrone Crawford, Jeremy Mincey, Davon Coleman, Ken Bishop, Caesar Rayford, Ken Boatright, DeMarcus Lawrence |
| LB | Justin Durant, Bruce Carter, DeVonte Holloman, Kyle Wilber, Anthony Hitchens, Rolando McClain |
| CB | Brandon Carr, Orlando Scandrick, Morris Claiborne, Terrance Mitchell, Sterling Moore |
| Safety | Barry Church, JJ Wilcox, Ahmad Dixon, Jeff Heath, Jakar Hamilton |
| Specialists | Dan Bailey, Chris Jones, L.P. Ladouceur |
A couple of things to add:
- Anthony Spencer is on active/PUP. If healthy I think he would slot in and someone from the O-Line would need to be trimmed.
- I do think the Cowboys go with three QB’s this year. I know this is something they haven’t done in the past but I think they almost have to unless they are 100% convinced in Romo’s back to hold up. Based on the first preseason game, Dustin Vaughan looks like he is a better third option than Caleb Hanie.
- I’m really hoping the Rolando McClain experiment comes to fruition. As of Friday morning, I’m not convinced.
- Will Josh Brent be back? If so, who’s spot will be compromised?
This is a 53 I can almost entirely agree with. Dixon or Webb but with Scandrick’s suspension they’ll have 4 weeks to show what they’ve got. Not sure if they can find a spot for a 3rd QB. I like Williams but think they go Randle unless Williams shows up in ore season. Lots of projections with Rayford and Boatright. I’m more on the side of Bass and Bush but those last two spots are antibodies on the DL