The Dallas Cowboys announced their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, but there's still plenty of moving parts.
For example, Nahshon Wright and Matt Waletzko going on IR/designated to return opens up two spots immediately. The expectation is OL Chuma Edoga, CB/special teams ace C.J. Goodwin and long-snapper Trent Sieg will return to the roster.
While the hard part is over, there's still plenty of work to do. Waived players could return to the practice squad, but only if they go unclaimed on waivers. The Cowboys could also sign released players from other teams.
It's going to be a busy couple of days in Dallas. In the meantime, let's underline the biggest takeaways from the initial 53-man roster.
4. Linebacker is fine, but could use some help
Linebacker isn't as thin as it's perceived given Dan Quinn can convert some safeties to play the position. A safety by trade, Markquese Bell is expected to fill DeMarvion Overshown's role as an off-ball linebacker, while Donovan Wilson and Jayron Kearse are plenty adept at dropping inside the box.
Still, Leighton Vander Esch, Damone Clark and Devin Harper are the only out-and-out LBs on the roster. Harper becoming the player many expected Jabril Cox would be would quell concerns about the position's depth, but he has zero regular season experience, and waived veteran Malik Jefferson could join the active roster if he's re-signed to the practice squad.
Overshown's injury really stings, which leads us to believe the Cowboys could look to add another veteran this week. Cory Littleton, Deion Jones, and Nicholas Morrow are some players available on waivers worth looking at.
3. Three undrafted rookies make the 53
The Cowboys love giving opportunities to priority free agents. One quick glance at the roster and fans will notice multiple former undrafted free agents, including Terence Steele, KaVontae Turpin, Rico Dowdle, Juanyeh Thomas, Markquese Bell and Peyton Hendershot,
Fans hoped Isaiah Land would make the 53, but the Cowboys were simply too deep on the edge and thin at other positions to justify keeping another pass rusher. That takes nothing away from T.J. Bass, Hunter Luepke and Brandon Aubrey, however.
Bass was the only Cowboys OL to not allow a single pressure in preseason, while Luepke did a little bit of everything in the preseason finale and could fill a variety of roles in Mike McCarthy's offense and Aubrey assembled a strong camp and preseason to open the season as the team's starting kicker.
All three players deserved to make it.
2. Going short on the offensive line was smart
The Cowboys only kept 8 offensive linemen on their initial roster: Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, Terence Steele, Asim Richards, T.J. Bass and Matt Waletzko.
As we noted earlier, Waletzko will miss the first four games, so the group really stands at seven players depending on Chuma Edoga's health. That's extremely light for an NFL roster, but it's a smart call by Dallas, as there's no sense carrying players for the sake of having extra bodies.
At the end of the day, Matt Farniok, Alec Lindstrom, Brock Hoffman, Earl Bostick Jr., Alex Taylor-Prioleau and Josh Ball weren't worth keeping.
Expect the Cowboys to add one or two new faces to the group. There's no backup center on the roster, but they could also use a guard and a proven swing tackle. Going thin up front is fine, but as long as Dallas brings in some upgrades.
1. Micah Parsons saved 2021 draft class from disaster
It was reported leading up to Tuesday's deadline that the Cowboys could ransack their 2021 draft class and that's exactly what happened.
For starters, second-round pick Kelvin Joseph, whom many expected to make the 53 after a standout preseason, was traded to the Dolphins. Six of Dallas' final seven picks from that year were released, including linebacker Jabril Cox, OL Josh Ball, wideout Simi Fehoko, NT Quinton Bohanna, and OL Matt Farniok
That leaves Micah Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa, Chauncey Golston, Nahshon Wright and Israel Mukuamu as the only players left standing from the 11-player class. And it's no sure thing that Wright lasts the entire season, either. He'll miss the first four games on IR and could get cut if Dallas decides to add another more depth at another position.
The 2021 draft will always be viewed as a success because of Parsons, who might be the best defensive player in football. Odighizuwa has proven to be a starter in the league, too, but it's pretty humbling to think a team with the drafting track record of the Cowboys has utterly gashed a class from two years ago.