Bottom Of The Roster: Looking At Cowboys Potential 2017 Practice Squad
All over the internet, there are projections galore about who will make the initial 53-man roster for the 2017 Dallas Cowboys. They are all focused on September 2nd when 1,184 players will have to turn their playbooks & IPads. Does the team keep the fourth running back or the sixth wide receiver? Is there room for a third quarterback or will suspensions require the team to go long somewhere else? These are all great fodder for debate, but I want to think about which ten of those 1,184 players will wind up helping prepare the Dallas Cowboys each week as members of their practice squad.
First let’s establish some ground rules based on the guidelines regarding practice squad transactions. While Will McClay and his group will always be scouring the league for untapped and under appreciated talent, anyone they claim on September 3rd must go directly on the 53-man regular season roster. The team will have to wait and hope any practice squad targets clear waivers through all 32 teams and then outbid other interested teams for their services. This makes it most likely that the majority of the initial practice squad will come from Dallas’ own 37 cuts. With that said, I will work under the premise that eight of the Cowboy’s ten member practice squad will be from the internal group.
Dallas’ bottom of the roster has improved exponentially over the past few years with better drafting and less big free agency misses. While that is obviously a plus for building a championship-caliber roster, it also means that many of the players that the Cowboys view as expendable depth might attract enough attention on September 3rd to get signed onto another team’s 53. There are two main purposes served by an NFL practice squad. The first is to keep talented, developmental young players in the system and allow them to hopefully grow into roles on the team in the future. The second is to fill out positions where the team keeps a lower than normal amount of players. For example, a team only keeps 3 CB as the Cowboys did just a few seasons ago. That might be their best decision for the roster but there are just too many practice reps to spread out in 1v1, 7on7 and team work. That team will need to keep 2-4 additional CBs on the practice squad just so they overwork the players that need to perform on Sundays.
Let’s start with the guys that are at the fringes for the Cowboys but show promise as NFL players.
Cooper Rush – As of today, this one seems easy. Reading my Twitter timeline, this young man will either be on the Cowboys 53 or he will be claimed and go on to a Hall of Fame career somewhere else. There is no question that Copper Rush has performed the best in the games and he passes the eye test for an NFL QB. Unfortunately, Scott Linehan has an unadulterated love affair with the idea of Kellen Moore as his QB2. While there are three more preseason games for him to prove himself invaluable, I still believe the most likely scenario is that Rush remains the Cowboy’s third QB but he does his work as a member of the practice squad.
Marquez White – It pains me to put Marquez White on this list. Mostly because I don’t think a CB with his measurables will clear waivers and be available to come back at all. He is the CB6 on a squad that has 5 locks (unless Nolan Carroll somehow gets himself cut) so barring a significant injury, the team just won’t be able to make room for him on their 53.
Andy Jones – For the past two springs, we have regaled by the tale of young Mr. Jones and the possibility that he could make a real push for a roster spot. For the 2nd summer in a row, the numbers at WR seem to preclude this happening. If Brice Butler can return soon from his injury, the Cowboys already have 5 WR spots locked up. More problematic for Jones’ roster chances is the potential the team appears to see in rookie Noah Brown. I believe the team will find a way to go 6 deep at WR and that WR6 will be Brown. In fact, I believe that either Noah Brown is WR6 or the team just keeps five. Even a strong performance over the last 3 preseason games won’t be enough to make the team out of camp for Andy Jones. It could, however, get him enough good tape that a WR-needy team claims him. His best chance to stick with the Cowboys for another year will be by clearing waivers and joining the practice squad.
Lucas Wacha – Following the comments coming out of OTAs, Minicamp and the beginning of training camp, I saw some good words put to paper about Lucas Wacha’s instincts and ability. He appears to be a solid developmental LB for the practice squad, especially since most of the other bubble LBs may not be practice squad eligible.
Lenny Jones – Even with all the looming suspensions and current DL injuries, Lenny Jones will probably not make the final cut with the Cowboys. Don’t get me wrong, Jones has shown up on the field for the Cowboys so far this preseason. He keeps getting penetration and showing up around the ball. In fact, if he continues to do so, he will probably be playing his way right out of Dallas.
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The next group of guys fill a role that will be needed at positions the team must fill to run practices.
Dan Skipper – Dan Skipper’s biggest reason for standing out thus far is actually how big he is. At 6’10”, Skipper is even tall by NFL O-line standards. The challenge with his height is being able to get athletic bend and get leverage on the guy he’s assigned to block. There have been some encouraging reports out of Oxnard that he is showing sign of being able to do just that. Cowboys fans have been spoiled over the past few years by Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zach Martin all becoming quality starters almost immediately. Traditionally in the NFL, offensive linemen not drafted in the first 2 rounds develop slowly but can really be worth patience in the investment. Because of this, I believe at one of the practice squad spots filled from another team’s cuts will be a developmental offensive linemen to join Skipper.
Duke Thomas – Duke Thomas looks to be a decent developmental player at CB. He is also on a team that drafted 4 promising CBs over the past 2 years and I have already mentioned above the challenge the last of those guys faces making this team. With all the running that the CBs and WRs do, he will be a needed set of fresh legs to help the team get through the season and have functional practice reps.
Jameill Showers – My best guess is that the team cuts Robert Blanton and rolls with only 4 safeties. This leaves them needing an extra guy on the practice squad that can help them manage reps throughout the season. I have to think they have a soft spot for this kid as he has only done everything the team has asked of him and even showed up on film in the preseason games.
That is my choice for 8 of the 10 practice squad players entering the 2017 regular season. As I said above, I believe one of the final two spots will be an O-lineman. The other will be another WR. That is unless Brian Brown shows enough in the next few games to make the Cowboys want to give him a further look.
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