DALLAS — A day before the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline, Mike Moraitis of Dallas Cowboys On SI wrote that the Minnesota Vikings are a logical trade partner for the Dallas Cowboys at outside linebacker. No discussions between the clubs have been reported.
Every team must reach 53 players by 5 p.m. CT Sunday. The league moved the deadline up two days this year, from the Tuesday that followed the final preseason weekend to the Sunday immediately after it. Waiver claims are due at noon CT Monday. Clubs may also designate up to two players for return from injured reserve as part of Sunday’s reduction. Those two do not have to occupy a spot on the initial 53, and each must miss at least four games.
How Marist Liufau’s Injury Changes The Dallas Cowboys’ Roster Math
Marist Liufau fractured his left forearm late in the first quarter Friday while making a tackle in Dallas’ 27-24 preseason loss to the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Liufau is expected to miss some weeks and will have surgery as early as Monday.
“Losing Marist as a football player is tough,” Schottenheimer said. “Unfortunately, it’s part of the business. You guys all know him and the way he’ll attack his rehab, and so we’ll get surgery done as soon as we can and next man up. But yeah, he was a critical, critical part of not just two or three special teams, really all four.
“He’s a ‘four-core’ guy that you just rely on,” Schottenheimer continued, “and he plays the game with violence and we have some other guys in that locker room that do that as well.”
Pro Football Reference charted Liufau at 361 special teams snaps last season, 75% of Dallas’ total, and 202 on defense. His defensive workload had fallen from 521 as a rookie. He has appeared in all 34 games since the Cowboys drafted him 87th overall out of Notre Dame in 2024, and this offseason the club moved him from inside linebacker to outside linebacker under first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker, who runs a 3-4 scheme.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who spoke with doctors after the injury, said Liufau could be back quickly if the surgery goes well.
“It’s one that’s in the right spot, and if you’re going to have one, it’s the one to have,” Jones said.
If Dallas designates Liufau for return from injured reserve at Sunday’s cutdown, he would not have to make the initial 53. The designation would count against the eight return designations Dallas is allowed for the regular season. Schottenheimer did not rule out the move after Friday’s game. The Cowboys have not announced any transaction involving Liufau.
Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News kept six outside linebackers on his fourth 53-man roster projection of the summer and left Liufau off. That projection ran Aug. 24, before Friday’s game. In a position-by-position roster-decisions piece published Wednesday, Cowboys.com writer Tommy Yarrish described Liufau, Sam Williams, and James Houston as the three competing for the final one or two spots at the position. Dallas carried six outside linebackers last season.
Why The Minnesota Vikings Need Edge Help
Minnesota traded Jonathan Greenard and a seventh-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles on the second day of the 2026 NFL Draft for third-round picks in 2026 and 2027. Greenard then signed a four-year, $98 million extension with Philadelphia that includes $50 million guaranteed. NFL Media reported the trade cleared more than $34 million in cap space for Minnesota.
Greenard recorded 38 sacks in six seasons, including 12 in 2024, when he made the Pro Bowl.
Dallas Turner and Andrew Van Ginkel hold the top two spots in the Vikings’ rotation. Turner went 17th overall in 2024. He had 8 sacks last season and has 11 for his career. In 2024, Van Ginkel set career highs with 11.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He made the Pro Bowl that season and signed a one-year extension worth $23 million in April 2025.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis projected Minnesota to keep Tyler Batty, Chaz Chambliss, and Bo Richter behind them. The three have 1 career sack between them, Moraitis wrote. Batty and Chambliss signed with the Vikings as undrafted free agents in 2025, and Richter did the same in 2024. Richter led Minnesota with 372 special teams snaps last season and signed a new deal in March.
Who The Dallas Cowboys Could Move
Rashan Gary, Donovan Ezeiruaku, Von Miller, and Malachi Lawrence are the four Moraitis has locked in. Gary arrived from the Green Bay Packers in March for a 2027 fourth-round pick. The 12th overall pick in 2019, he has recorded at least 7.5 sacks in each of the last three seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2024.
Dallas took Lawrence 23rd overall in April out of UCF, on a pick acquired from Philadelphia in a trade down from No. 20. For the Knights in 2025 he had 7 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He made the All-Big 12 first team that season.
On Aug. 17, Miller agreed to a one-year contract worth $5.5 million. The deal can reach $7.5 million. He is entering his 15th season, and his 138.5 career sacks are the most among active players. Last season he had 9 sacks for the Washington Commanders on 420 defensive snaps.
Williams had 4 sacks in 2022 and 4.5 in 2023 before a torn ACL cost him the 2024 season. He played all 17 games last season and finished with 1 sack on 474 defensive snaps. Dallas took the Ole Miss product 56th overall in 2022 and re-signed him in March.
As a rookie with the Detroit Lions in 2022, Houston had 8 sacks in seven games. He had 5.5 last season, Moraitis wrote.
Moraitis put the likely cost for Williams or Houston at a Day 3 pick, probably no better than a fifth-rounder. He listed three fifth-round picks across Minnesota’s next two drafts.
Dallas opens the regular season at the New York Giants on Sept. 13 at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
