4 Cowboys we can safely call busts after 2023 season
The Dallas Cowboys definitely had one of the best rosters in the NFL on paper in 2023, but that doesn't mean every single player lived up to expectations. Regardless of NFL Draft status, players can definitely "bust" when it comes to the expectations that get heaped upon them by fans or media, but for those players, the good news is that the 2023 season wasn't the end of the road.
The Cowboys' 2023 season as a whole could be considered a bust for many, but as you dissect the roster, it's safe to maybe throw that dreaded word around.
This isn't something that's just reserved for first-round picks or high-priced free agents. Let's look at a handful of Dallas Cowboys players it's safe to say haven't lived up to expectations as of the 2023 season.
1. Josh Ball, OT
There was a lot of controversy surrounding the Dallas Cowboys selecting Josh Ball in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft in the first place. Ball had issues at Florida State that led to his dismissal from the program and he finished out his collegiate career at Marshall.
NFL Draft experts were saying, at the time, that Ball had top-100 talent, maybe even early Day 2 talent, if not for his issues off the field at Florida State. But those issues couldn't be ignored, and the Cowboys felt comfortable enough with their off-field evaluation on him to take him with the 138th overall pick in 2021.
At this point, I think we can safely say that was a waste of a fourth-round pick. Ball has appeared in 13 games in three seasons, and the Cowboys shouldn't be spinning these wheels anymore after this season. He was placed on IR in late August last year, and with just 13 games and basically a handful of snaps in 2022 to his credit, Ball isn't worth keeping around anymore.
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