FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have more depth and overall talent than they did a year ago, coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday at The Star. Last August ended with Dallas trading Micah Parsons.
Dallas is early in the process of trimming the roster and will get into it more this week, Schottenheimer said. He put the timeline at roughly six days out.
“I think I’m very pleased with the way the Oxnard portion of training camp went. I think it was a physical camp, which we wanted. We’re still in training camp mode, so it’s not over yet. I thought we’ve shed some light on some really cool position battles,” Schottenheimer said. “But I think the biggest thing for me, when you look at it, is if you take our roster from last year and you laid it down next to our roster from this year, there’s no question that the depth and the overall talent is higher.”
“And some of that is from us developing some younger players that now are in a different classification, but also the addition of a number of pieces, and that’s a credit to Jerry, Stephen, Will McClay, his staff, and the coaches,” Schottenheimer continued. “But this is a good football team and we got a lot of confidence, and we just gotta make the right decisions as we get to cut down day, which we will.”
What Changed Since Last August
Dallas traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 28 last year. The Cowboys received defensive tackle Kenny Clark and first-round picks in 2026 and 2027. Parsons signed a four-year contract worth $188 million with $136 million guaranteed.
Clark started all 17 games for Dallas last season and recorded 3 sacks and 36 tackles. The Cowboys later traded the 2027 first-round pick to the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams. Williams recorded 21 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 7 games.
Dallas finished 7-9-1 and second in the NFC East in Schottenheimer’s first season. The Cowboys scored 471 points, seventh in the NFL, and allowed 511, which ranked last.
The Pieces Dallas Added
Dallas drafted safety Caleb Downs 11th overall in April and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence 23rd. The Cowboys also took Jaishawn Barham at No. 92, Drew Shelton at No. 112, and Devin Moore at No. 114.
The Cowboys signed Sam Howell on March 10 and agreed to terms with Von Miller during camp. They claimed Zack Kuntz off waivers on Aug. 6.
What Is Left Before Dallas Cowboys Cuts
Dallas practices in front of fans at The Star on Tuesday and Wednesday. The preseason closes Friday against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. CT on CBS.
Rosters must be at 53 players by 5 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 30. Waiver claims are due at noon CT the next day.
