The Dallas Cowboys numbers game heading into the season

The Dallas Cowboys will only have to say goodbye to nine players before entering the season because of the new rule change.

The Dallas Cowboys, like most teams, always have a hard time come down day because so many unknown players or pet cats pull at the heartstrings of both coaches and fans alike. Unlike in years past, the Dallas Cowboys will only have to permanently say goodbye to nine players from their current roster of 80.

Players like Woody Dantzler or Danny Amendola were players that I think the coaching staff wishes they got a mulligan on. If you are wondering what I am talking about, let me explain.

The NFL is going to have their usual cut down to 53 man rosters. The ratified CBA now has an inclusion where teams can carry an extra two players meaning the roster will expand to 55 players. 

Reports are that teams will be allowed to carry 16 players on their practice squad. That is an insane number of players that will practice and participate in everyday activities but will not be permitted to suit up.

This also means that players who would have bounced around the league in hopes of latching on can now focus on their craft and develop with the team that had hoped for them to become contributors.

This also means the Dallas Cowboys will have a total of 71 players at any given time in their facility. I think that there will be some happy undrafted free agents roaming the hallways at The Star in Frisco.

There is always a loophole that smart teams use for their advantage. Is there any way the team can take advantage of this year?

The short answer to this is absolutely. There always seems to be an untimely injury to a young unknown player at the end of each training camp and injured reserve is the only option of keeping that player without losing him on waivers.

This year, teams can now return an unlimited amount of players from injured reserve after three weeks. This means the Cowboys should play the stash mode on some of their players that are injured, wink wink, and activate them at their convenience. This means that the 71 players under team control could hypothetically grow.

Let’s say three players are injured but the team thinks that they could contribute this year, the team could stash them on injured reserve to begin the season and bring them back later in the year. The number of players the team controls now stands at 74. With the team currently at 80 players, this was a great year for undrafted guys to get plenty of opportunities.

It will also be hard for teams to try and poach players from other clubs as COVID-19 testing and fears could play a part in how teams want to approach their locker room chemistry. Like most things that are currently unknown, it is just better to play it safe rather than jeopardize the health of your team over a single player. The new player now has to adjust to a new city with different testing protocols.

The bottom line is teams are going to have a plethora of players at their disposal which could alter how well their season progresses. I just hope the Dallas Cowboys have multiple contingency plans in place to set up what could become a deep postseason run.