Five Dallas Cowboys who may not survive final cuts
The Dallas Cowboys coaching staff went through quite a turnover this offseason. That figures to change the fortunes of some veteran players this summer.
Every NFL team experiences some level of change from year-to-year. Yet, the Dallas Cowboys have experienced more than most this offseason.
That’s due in large part to the fact the Cowboys moved on from longtime head coach Jason Garrett in January, hiring former Green Bay Packers and Super Bowl winner Mike McCarthy to take his place. In turn, McCarthy went about the business of installing an almost entirely new coaching staff in Dallas.
Along with these new coaches, the Cowboys have made several changes to their roster as well. And those moves are expected to continue through final roster cuts prior to the start of the NFL regular season. With an eye on the near future, here are five veterans that we believe could be in danger of not surviving past those final cuts come September.
Joe Looney, C
After the surprising retirement of All-Pro center Travis Frederick this offseason, the presence of Joe Looney surely gave many fans a sense of relief. After all, Looney was a 16-game starter at center when Frederick missed the entire 2018 season due to an autoimmune disease.
But the fact is Looney only signed a one-year deal for $2.3 million according to OverTheCap.com. And the Cowboys have spent solid draft picks on potential center replacements over the past two years.
Connor McGovern was the Cowboys’ third-round selection in 2019 and played at both center and guard at Penn State. The Day Two selection is now healthy and ready to compete for a starting role after missing his entire rookie season due to a pectoral injury.
In this year’s draft, the Cowboys traded back into the fourth round to select Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz. And although it seems unlikely that a fourth-round rookie could end up starting in his first season following a truncated offseason training program, that’s exactly what The Athletic’s Jon Machota predicts will happen.
Regardless if the rookie wins the starting role or not, the future for Looney looks a lot dimmer considering the presence of both McGovern and Biadasz. If both prove worthy of tackling the starting role this summer, the veteran’s time in Dallas may come to an end.