DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys drafted two players in the first round, traded for a starting offensive tackle 15 days before the opener, and set their initial 53-man roster on Aug. 30. Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was asked Tuesday morning on the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan how the young ones have looked.
Training camp ran at River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, California. The Cowboys kept two quarterbacks. They waived Joe Milton III on Aug. 31 to open a spot for running back Emari Demercado, then re-signed Milton to the practice squad two days later. Sam Howell holds the backup job behind Dak Prescott. Running back Jaydon Blue and edge rusher Sam Williams were also waived.
Jerry Jones On The Dallas Cowboys’ Young Players
“I like the youthful, the exuberation that we have,” Jones said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces. Let’s look at the young ones first. We don’t have a disappointment out there as far as what we had expected at this time from several young players.
“That’s a big plus,” Jones continued. “And then you have, really, we’ve got some new players relative to last year that are really exhibiting some significant leadership in there. Having done that, those guys are really making an impact. These young guys, I think, have got a great combination.”
Ten defensive players joined Dallas this offseason. Two more, Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark, arrived in trades within the past year. Both were voted team captains for 2026. Prescott and Brandon Aubrey are the other two.
Safety Caleb Downs went No. 11 overall in April. Edge rusher Malachi Lawrence went later in the first round. Dallas took linebacker Jaishawn Barham in the third, then defensive end LT Overton and offensive tackle Drew Shelton in the fourth.
The preseason closed at the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 22. A week later the Cowboys traded third- and sixth-round 2027 picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Broderick Jones and a 2027 fourth.
“If we can step up here and take the young team that we’ve got on defense, if you will, accomplish, but more to come on offense, well, we could have something grow right in front of us and get better and better and better,” Jones explained.
Communication As The Dallas Cowboys’ Major Adjustment
Christian Parker is 34 and calling plays for the first time. He is the third Cowboys defensive coordinator in three seasons.
“That’s been a major plus,” Jones said. “That has been sort of lacking, but the communication, the continual talking it up with each other, really trying to execute, understanding what you’re executing, and then basically making those changes on the run.
“All of those things are what I think we’ve been short of that we’ve really, I see happening out there,” Jones added. “And I saw it in California in training camp. I think it’s going to be the major adjustment, that between the players themselves, making those adjustments, getting in the right spots. But coordinating that.”
This is Brian Schottenheimer‘s second season as head coach. He went 7-9-1 in the first. Klayton Adams returns as offensive coordinator and Nick Sorensen coordinates special teams.
Dallas restructured the contracts of Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Tyler Smith in March to get under the $301.2 million cap. Last week it cleared more than $19 million more.
Smith is the one significant injury from camp and the preseason. Surgery on his left thumb was scheduled for Tuesday. He is expected to miss four to six weeks, and T.J. Bass moves into the starting five.
