Dallas Cowboys: Are there any surprising roster cuts coming?

The Dallas Cowboys have made a few surprising cuts in the past which makes me wonder if the new staff will make a surprising move.

NFL teams will have to trim down their 80-man roster to just 53 players by Saturday, 4:00 p.m. EST. And the Dallas Cowboys are no exception.

The Cowboys rarely make waves during cutdown day. But there have been a few surprising moves in the past like kicker Dan Bailey’s untimely release back in 2018.

The cuts have already started with the Cowboys reportedly letting go of seven players already. After going over the roster, I think I have 51 of the 53 spots locked up with a coin flip call on the final two spots.

Nevertheless, the national media is starting to make their own predictions, which allowed my mind to wander and think about any surprising Cowboys’ cuts. After a thorough analysis, I think I have a few unpopular choices that I doubt will happen but I would understand why they potential would.

The first surprising cut wouldn’t be all that surprising considering the reports coming from training camp.  I think safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix could be a casualty considering the high hopes for him this offseason.

When the Cowboys signed Clinton-Dix this offseason, almost everyone pegged him as a walk-on starter. It appears that safety Darian Thompson might have a stranglehold pf a starting position over him. I believe there are two factors to consider here.

Veteran players might become disgruntled after signing with a new team and displaying their dissatisfaction when having been beaten out by a player they were essentially signed to replace. This is pure speculation on my part as I cannot find any reports of this happening. But it has the potential to become a distraction behind closed doors.

The second factor to consider is the financial savings the team could stand to gain by releasing a player that doesn’t exactly fit. Clinton-Dix signed a one-year, $4 million deal with $2.5 million guaranteed. That would mean the Cowboys would gain $1.5 million by making this move. Although it is not a massive gain, it could be rolled over and help towards next year’s cap.

I also want to just throw out two former Cowboy free agent signing for fans to research if they think this is a move that could not happen. The first is linebacker Jasper Brinkley. And the second is safety George Iloka.

Defensive end is another battle where there is going to be a good player left out of the rotation and it could end up being defensive end, Dorance Armstrong. I have him neck and neck with fellow end Joe Jackson but I think that both of those guys are destined for the practice squad.

The Cowboys love to poach players from other teams this time of year regardless of the risks involved. But the rush of claiming a new player seems to always be too much for this front office to stay away making an initial 52 man roster a real possibility.

Adding a street free agent could also become an option depending on how their final roster shapes up. Final rosters might have a shortfall at a certain position which could require this team to go out and fill a need.

Could there be a legacy player that is released that would cause an uproar of disapproval?

Unfortunately, I think that there is a player that fits this mold. He has been one of my favorite players but I would understand this move if it happened. Linebacker Sean Lee is obviously closer to the end than he is the beginning which would make sense to release him.

It also would be a bad public relations move to release Lee as I think he deserves to leave the Cowboys on his own terms. With that said, one of the last two spots I am having trouble on this roster is whether to keep linebacker Luke Gifford or rookie Francis Bernard.

This move would allow Dallas to become younger and possibly more athletic at the backup spots albeit losing a significant cerebral player in Lee. Smart teams always let a player leave a year too early rather than a year too late.

The cap savings Dallas would gain is a modest $2.5 million which helps immensely considering the unknown cap situation heading into the 2021 season. It is also concerning that Sean Lee has had extremely limited participation during training camp this season.

For those of you who think that they say the Dallas Cowboys are keeping him fresh for the season, I still remember former head coach Bill Parcells talk about how older veterans still have to show they have the ability to do their job.

If the Cowboys are shielding Sean Lee from the rigors of football, it might be time for Lee to do the Cowboys a favor and walk away. Other players that I have not making the initial 53 man roster are linebacker Justin March and rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci.