In years past, NFL teams have had to cut rosters down throughout the preseason. Now, it will all be done at once as every team must go from 90 players down to 53 on Aug. 29. For the Dallas Cowboys, there will be plenty of tough decisions as they make their moves.
As hard as it will be to decide on things such as how many tight ends to keep, or which defensive ends need to stick around, some decisions will be made for them. With that being said, here are three players whose performance in the preseason might cost them their jobs.
3. Hunter Luepke, FB
Every year, there's at least one undrafted free agent that really stands out as a potential threat. For the Cowboys in 2023, that player was Hunter Luepke from North Dakota State.
Listed as a fullback, Luepke was seen as a potential short-yardage back that could help them replace Ezekiel Elliott. He was also praised for his receiving skills out of the backfield. Dallas was impressed enough with him that he was signed to a deal with $200,000 in guaranteed money.
After a couple of preseason games, it's fair to ask if they feel less enthusiastic about the 238-pound back. Luepke has six carries thus far with a total of just nine yards. He also has yet to catch a pass for Dallas.
With Tony Pollard set as RB1 and Deuce Vaughn and Rico Dowdle both impressing in the RB2 competition, it's starting to feel less likely that they will go with four backs. That could wind up costing Luepke his spot on the roster, unless he starts to show more of the playmaking skills he had with the Bison in this final game.
2. Simi Fehoko, WR
After Amari Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns, Simi Fehoko had a huge opportunity with the Cowboys. In addition to Cooper being out, Michael Gallup wasn't ready at the beginning of the season and James Washington was lost to an injury in training camp.
That meant Fehoko had a chance to climb the depth chart and get some meaningful snaps. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound wideout was given every chance to secure a spot — and the coaching staff really wanted to see someone with his combination of size and speed on the field.
He was never able to do enough though and was beaten out by Noah Brown. The former seventh-round pick had a breakout season with 43 receptions for 555 yards with three touchdowns. As for Fehoko, he ended up being active for just five games and had three receptions for 24 yards.
This season, the path to the roster is even tougher with Gallup fully healthy plus the addition of Brandin Cooks. On top of that, Jalen Tolbert has proven to be light years ahead of where he was this time last year.
Making matters worse, Fehoko hasn't made a huge impact. He had four receptions in their Week 1 contest against the Jaguars but gained just 27 yards. Then against Seattle, he caught just one of four targets for a loss of two yards. That means he enters Week 3 with five receptions for 25 yards — an average of just five yards per reception.
Unless he has a huge game against the Raiders in their final preseason game, time could be running out on the Stanford product.
1. Eric Scott Jr.
It wasn't long go that Scott Jr. was making a beeline for the CB4 gig behind starters Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore and DaRon Bland. The rookie sixth-round pick stacked multiple impressive practices during training camp, but hasn't been able to replicate that form in preseason.
While Scott made a nice pass breakup on third down against the Seahawks, that's been his lone positive contribution through two games.
Shortly after that PBU, Scott got burned by rookie wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 48-yard reception that nearly went for six. Seattle scored a touchdown on the very next play to take a 10-7 lead and they never trailed again.
Scott Jr. struggled against the Jaguars, too. He attributed that to first game nerves and while he was only targeted twice in coverage, he had a couple mental lapses defending the run, including plugging the wrong gap that allowed Tank Bigsby to bounce outside for a 30-yard gain.
The Cowboys rarely cut rookie draft picks, but Scott's arrow is pointing down heading into the preseason finale after a splendid training camp.