Cowboys announce 5 players waived in first round of roster cuts

As the start of the 2022 season quickly approaches, it’s time for the Dallas Cowboys to start making some tough decisions. On Monday morning, they had 90 players “on the team” and participating in camp. Now, the list is down to 85, and by August 30, the Cowboys will have to cut an additional 32 players.

On Monday afternoon, a day before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. CST deadline, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News sent out a tweet detailing the first five players to be eliminated from the roster.

To go from 90 to 85 players, the Cowboys are “waive-injuring” CB Kyron Brown, FB Ryan Nall, TE Ian Bunting, and WR Ty Fryfogle. DL Austin Faoliu was the only player waived outright without injury status.

What exactly does being “waive-injured” mean? It’s a measure the NFL uses to prevent teams from stuffing a bunch of players on the IR. All four players will go on waivers for 24 hours, giving any team the opportunity to pick them up. If they clear waivers (go unclaimed), they will get assigned to the IR and not take up a 53-man roster spot.

The Dallas Cowboys decide on five players to waive for the first round of preseason roster cuts, including WR Ty Fryfogle

So, who were these players?

CB Kyron Brown: Brown is a former UDFA who initially signed with the Jets back in 2019. He signed a futures/reserve contract with the Cowboys early in 2022. With a strong cornerback group, this isn’t a surprise.

FB Ryan Nall: Remember when the Cowboys finally made an additional free agency move, but it was only to get Ryan Nall (womp womp)? Well, now he’s likely out even though he signed a one-year contract with Dallas. He recently suffered a deep shoulder contusion and has been sitting out.

TE Ian Bunting: This tight end has been tossed around the NFL after going undrafted in 2019. He did suit up for Dallas last season and made his NFL debut against the Washington Football Team. Bunting sustained a neck injury/soreness during the joint practice against the Broncos.

WR Ty Fryfogle: Fryfogle was a UDFA favorite from 2022, but just didn’t outshine names like Simi Fehoko, Dennis Houston, Noah Brown, and Jalen Tolbert. He also is dealing with a hamstring issue.

DL Austin Faoliu: The former Oregon Duck signed as a UDFA with Dallas in 2021. Again, given we have barely heard his name, this cut doesn’t seem surprising.

Just like that, the first round of roster cuts is done. The team must cut another five players (down to 80) by next Tuesday.