3 potential roster cuts Cowboys have to retain on the practice squad

1. Hunter Luepke, Fullback

There was a lot of attention paid to the Dallas backfield this offseason and for good reason. For the first time since 2016, they enter the year without Ezekiel Elliott, who recently signed with the New England Patriots.

With Zeke gone, Tony Pollard is set to take over as the primary back. While he did assume this role for much of the 2022 campaign, Elliott was still considered the starter and wound up taking over at the goal line quite often.

Pollard topped 1,000 yards last season, so there are no concerns with him being the lead back. The questions, instead, centered around the backups. Right now, that includes Rico Dowdle and Malik Davis. Both have plenty of talent but Dowdle has just seven career rushing attempts (all of which came in 2020) and Davis had 38 as a rookie in 2022.

Despite having fewer attempts, Dowdle appears to be the favorite for RB2 after outplaying Davis in the preseason. Davis should be the third back and they might not keep a fourth.

If that winds up being the case, that would mean Dallas ends up cutting rookie Hunter Luepke. Technically listed as a fullback, Luepke had a shot at making this team as a short-yardage back and had his best game of the preseason against the Raiders.

Luepke finished with 58 yards on the ground and 60 through the air with one touchdown.

The Cowboys gave Luepke a hefty signing bonus to lure him to Dallas and would be wise to retain him on the practice squad — if at all possible.

More Dallas Cowboys news and analysis