The Dallas Cowboys submitted their 53-man roster on Tuesday, but that was never going to be the finished product. Team decision-makers planned to cut certain players they knew they would get back on the practice squad after some roster gymnastics.
Unfortunately, part of that process includes losing players on the waiver wire. Cowboys fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Traeshon Holden and Rivaldo Fairweather were not claimed.
The same cannot be said for defensive lineman Tyrus Wheat, who was a really solid special teams player for Dallas for two years after he went undrafted in 2023. What makes losing Wheat sting more is that he was claimed by the Detroit Lions.
Tyrus Wheat getting claimed by the Lions will sting Cowboys fans
The Cowboys have a lot of rivalries outside of the NFC East, but their bad blood with the Lions is apparent after their contentious battle in 2023.
Cowboys fans will remember Dallas squeaking out a victory thanks to a controversial illegal touching penalty on Lions offensive lineman Taylor Decker, whom refs deemed did not report as an eligible receiver before the snap on his go-ahead two-point conversion in the final minute of regulation. Replay video showed that Decker did, in fact, report to referee Brad Allen, while fellow offensive lineman Dan Skipper said he did not report as eligible.
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Long story short, the Lions got hosed. There's no two ways about it. However, their fans refuse to let the loss go almost two years later and Detroit's social media team continues to reference the mistake with snarky posts. This has fueled an ongoing tension between Lions and Cowboys fans.
Poaching Wheat will only add to that. The 25-year-old is a competent run defender who can kick inside on early downs to help muck up the run game. The Cowboys opted to keep James Houston for his pass-rushing upside, which makes sense, but it stands to reason that Wheat barely missed making the 53.
It will be interesting to track Wheat's role in the Motor City. The Cowboys and Lions will lock horns again in Week 14 on Thursday Night Football. It would make for quite the storyline if Wheat establishes himself as a key part of Detroit's defense by then.