3 most shocking decisions Cowboys made with 53-man roster
Did anyone see these moves coming?
By Jerry Trotta
It's over. After a maddening 72 hours following Saturday's preseason finale, the Dallas Cowboys announced their 32 roster cuts and submitted their initial 53-man roster. They have further roster gymnastics to perform with injured players and waived vets before the final product is released, but the hard part is over.
It's a sad time around the NFL, including for the Cowboys, who parted with multiple recent draft selections and training camp/preseason standouts.
The biggest news of the day, though, was Kelvin Joseph getting dealt to the Dolphins for fellow cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Many expected Joseph to make the roster amid a resurgent offseason, but Dallas clearly didn't see enough from the young corner and cashed in before outright cutting him.
Of course, there are other big decisions worth of a reaction. With that, here are the most surprising decisions the Cowboys made with their roster.
3. Nahshon Wright makes it over Kelvin Joseph
It was expected going into training camp that Joseph and Wright would compete for the final cornerback spot. Even though Wright missed most of training camp and all of preseason, he still got the nod over Joseph.
To make the decision even more puzzling, Wright will go on injured reserve/designated to return after spending a day on the active roster. That means he's out the first four games.
It speaks volumes the Cowboys kept an injured corner who missed a chunk of the offseason program over a player in Joseph who shined in preseason. Perhaps Dan Quinn prefers Wright's length and size to Joseph's (Wright is 6-foot-4 and Joseph is 6-foot-1). It's all open for interpretation, but it's still surprising nonetheless.
It'd be one thing if Dallas got a draft pick in return for Joseph to help offset the trades for Brandin Cooks, Stephon Gilmore and Trey Lance. Instead they got another development corner in Igbinoghene who started three games the last two seasons in Miami as a former first-round pick.
Fans will no doubt be tracking this decision all season long.