{"id":802787,"date":"2026-03-09T17:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/802787\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T17:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:17:16","slug":"dallas-cowboys-have-23-roster-spots-up-for-grabs-before-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/802787\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys have 23 roster spots up for grabs before free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">With the start of free agency, the new league year for the 2026 NFL Season is officially underway. The Dallas Cowboys have already made quite a few changes from his season ago and still have a lot of work to do to fill out their roster for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">In order to get a better understanding of the Cowboys roster and what positions may be up for grabs, we decided to take a look at who we believe to be roster locks right now. By doing this we get a better idea of what jobs are secured and which ones are up for grabs. As things stand right now, we believe there are 30 roster locks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Things can change quickly though on this projection, so be sure to stay informed on everything by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloggingtheboys.com\/dallas-cowboys-free-agency\/198591\/nfl-free-agency-tracker-legal-tampering-rumors-news-signings\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">following our free agency tracker. <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Dak Prescott is the Cowboys QB1 and Joe Milton once again be his primary backup in 2026. Maybe the Cowboys bring in someone to challenge Milton for the QB2 job, but that seems unlikely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Hunter Luepke<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Javonte Williams is Dallas\u2019 RB1 for the foreseeable future and Hunter Luepke is expected to be more involved according to Brian Schottenheimer. Blue sticks for now, but he could end up on the bubble later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, KaVontae Turpin, Ryan Flournoy<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">In CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, the Cowboys have arguably the best WR duo in the league. Flournoy established himself as a good WR3 last year, and Turpin sticks for his special teams value and gadget play ability.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Jake Ferguson, Brevyn Spann-Ford<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford are the only two tight ends we believe are roster locks right now. Luke Schoonmaker is in the final year of his rookie contract and could be a possible roster cut or trade candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Tyler Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, Terence Steele, Nate Thomas, TJ Bass<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Cowboys have their starting five in Guyton, Smith, Beebe, Booker, and Steele with solid backups Nate Thomas and T.J. Bass. Adding more depth would round out the group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Donovan Ezeiruaku, James Houston, Rashan Gary<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The trade for Rashan Gary added some much-needed depth and veteran experience to the Cowboys pass rush, but more additions through free agency and the draft are needed to upgrade the position further.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Osa Odighizuwa, Solomon Thomas<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Cowboys have a solid group before DTs in Williams, Clark, Odighizuwa, and Thomas. How they fit in Christian Parker scheme though is a bit of a mystery right now and further depth may be needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">DeMarvion Overshown, Shemar James<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">With Marist Liufau\u2019s move to OLB, the Cowboys are extremely thin at LB with just Overshown and James as expected roster locks. That\u2019s pretty concerning considering Overshown\u2019s well documented injury history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Despite their injury concerns, both Bland and Revel are still probably the only roster locks at CB. Dallas did tender ERFA Reddy Stewart, but even he\u2019s not guaranteed a roster spot after free agency and the draft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Dallas restructured Malik Hooker\u2019s contract so it looks like he will avoid being a salary-cap casualty. Markquese Bell and Alijah Clark are currently on the roster bubble, but could stick around due to their special teams value.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger, Trent Sieg<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The only question here is whether or not another team would be willing to not only sign Aubrey to a long-term extension and surrender a second-round draft pick to secure his services. It seems unlikely, but still a possibility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the start of free agency, the new league year for the 2026 NFL Season is officially underway.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[230,229,257,5355,438,2461,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-802787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-cowboys","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys-free-agency","12":"tag-dallas-cowboys-roster","13":"tag-dallascowboys","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116200358028897005","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}