FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer singled out Reddy Steward on Wednesday as the kind of player the Dallas Cowboys are looking for while they set a 53-man roster. Steward has moved from nickel to safety this camp, and he has played outside corner and special teams across two seasons in Dallas.
“Can’t speak enough about a guy like Reddy Steward,” Schottenheimer said. “Guy moves from nickel, he plays at safety. He does everything right. He’s intelligent. He’s a great communicator. Those guys are hard to find sometimes.”
Why Reddy Steward’s Versatility Matters To Dallas
Steward took 519 defensive snaps last season, 46.88% of the team’s total. He added 82 on special teams. Among Cowboys cornerbacks only DaRon Bland, who played 746, took more.
He signed an exclusive rights tender in March. Dallas has to move 37 players off the 90-man roster by Sunday.
Schottenheimer traced the approach to a line his father used in San Diego.
“And the one thing I think we’re all on the same page of is this statement, which is we want to build a great team and not just collect talent,” Schottenheimer explained. “And I’ll say that again. It’s a great quote. Marty Schottenheimer, 2005, 2004 in San Diego. It’s not about just taking the best players. It’s about taking the best people that fit into what you’re trying to do, therefore building the best team that we can have, which gives us the best chance to win a Super Bowl.”
Marty Schottenheimer coached San Diego from 2002 through 2006, which covers both of the years his son reached for.
How Brian Schottenheimer Is Looking At The Final 53
Schottenheimer would not put a number on how many spots are open.
“I’m not going to answer that. It’s a good question that I’m going to not answer. You don’t know,” Schottenheimer continued. “We’ve got a really competitive roster, and there’s going to be a lot of late nights. These are hard decisions. You’re affecting people’s lives, and you’re trying to build a championship football team, and these are big decisions. It’s not just who starts at this position or that position. It’s how does it all fit.”
Some of the battles this year are genuinely contested, and Schottenheimer said last year’s process was more clear cut because the roster was not as good.
“I would say this year some of these battles are really contested. Last year maybe it was a little easier process. Not easier in terms of the emotion and things like that, but I do think that it was a little bit more clear cut now because we’re a deeper, better, more talented football team,” Schottenheimer continued. “I think these decisions are going to be harder. It’s part of it, but each situation is different. Is it 12? Is it 18? Is it 15? You really don’t know.”
The deadline is 5 p.m. CT Sunday, two days earlier than the league’s usual Tuesday, and waiver claims follow at noon CT Monday.
Dallas won 17-7 at Seattle on Aug. 15 and 34-13 at Arizona on Aug. 22, and the Cowboys sat 29 players in the second of those. They have not allowed more than 13 points this preseason.
Friday’s finale against New Orleans kicks off at 7 p.m. CT at AT&T Stadium on CBS locally. Rosters must be at 53 players by 5 p.m. CT Sunday, Aug. 30.
