ARLINGTON, Texas — Sam Howell is on his fifth NFL team in five seasons. He spent Friday night making the case that the Dallas Cowboys should be the one that keeps him.
Howell went 12-of-18 for 155 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions in a 27-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints, a 130.6 passer rating. He erased a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and ran in the tying 2-point conversion himself. Rosters cut to 53 players at 5 p.m. CT on Sunday.
“I feel like I’ve had a good camp. I feel like I’m playing some good ball right now. I feel confident in the system,” Howell said. “And I think us and the guys we’re out there with, we’re developing some good chemistry, as far as us and the O-line, us and the receivers. So I thought it was a good preseason, and I’m happy about the way I performed.”
The Fourth Quarter
Dallas trailed 24-9 when Howell hit Jordan Hudson down the left sideline for 52 yards on the final snap of the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth, from the 26, he found Hudson again in the back right corner of the end zone.
His next drive ran 12 plays and 67 yards and took 7:04 off the clock. Howell completed all 5 of his throws on it for 47 yards and picked up a first down with his legs on third-and-1 at the New Orleans 46. He finished it with a 21-yard touchdown up the seam to Mitch Van Vooren, then ran right guard through contact for the conversion that tied it at 24 with 6:11 left.
New Orleans had sacked him twice earlier in the night, once for 10 yards on his first possession of the second half.
Five Teams in Five Seasons
Washington drafted Howell in the fifth round in 2022, 144th overall, out of North Carolina, where he set school records with 38 touchdown passes in a season and 10,283 career passing yards. He started all 17 games for the Commanders in 2023 and has 22 touchdowns against 23 interceptions in 20 career games.
Cowboys fans saw the low point of that season up close. On Thanksgiving Day 2023, DaRon Bland intercepted a Howell pass and returned it 63 yards, the NFL-record fifth pick-six of Bland’s season, in a 45-10 Dallas win.
Seattle traded for Howell in 2024. Minnesota and Philadelphia had him in 2025. He signed a one-year contract with Dallas in March, and Dallas Morning News beat writer Calvin Watkins left him off his 53-man roster projection this week.
Joe Milton III, who backed up Dak Prescott last season, went 8-of-15 for 92 yards in the first half. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer called the competition neck and neck afterward.
Klayton Adams Called His First Game
Klayton Adams ran the offense Friday for the first time, with Schottenheimer working the defensive sideline.
“Klayton was great. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Klayton. He’s got a bright future as a play caller in this league,” Howell said. “It was cool to get that opportunity to play with him, call in the plays. He’s called it throughout training camp a little bit, and he was great. There weren’t any mishaps out there, and, hey, we couldn’t win it for him.”
Howell has been cut, traded, and signed off the street in three consecutive offseasons.
“You never know. But you just got to take it one day at a time and put your best foot forward, and you got to do your best,” Howell said. “And you got to trust that God has a good plan for you no matter where that is, whether that’s here or somewhere else. But you got to control what you can control, and that’s how you approach every single day.”
Dallas opens at the New York Giants on Sept. 13. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
