Dallas Cowboys officially reduce roster to 53 players

The Dallas Cowboys finalized cuts to the roster on Tuesday, settling the official 53-man ahead of the NFL deadline at 4 p.m.

In the past, teams had multiple deadlines to reduce the roster during the preseason but the rules changed for the 2023 season and now, there’s only one deadline.

Having cut very few players leading up to Aug. 29, the Cowboys had a lot of unfortunate calls to make.

With the roster deadline passed, the team can now designate an additional 16 players for the practice squad.

Here’s how the Cowboys’ 53-man roster looks ahead of the first game of the 2023 season, which is a road game against the New York Giants.

Cowboys Offense

Quarterback: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Trey Lance

Running Back: Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, Hunter Luepke

Wide Receiver: CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert, KaVontae Turpin, Jalen Brooks

Tight End: Jake Ferguson, Luke Schoonmaker, Peyton Hendershot

Offensive Line: Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin, Terence Steele, T.J. Bass, Matt Waletzko, Asim Richards

Defense

Defensive Line: DeMarcus Lawrence, Osa Odighizuwa, Mazi Smith, Dorance Armstrong, Johnathan Hankins, Dante Fowler Jr., Neville Gallimore, Sam Williams, Chauncey Golston, Junior Fehoko

Linebackers: Micah Parsons, Leighton Vander Esch, Damone Clark, Devin Harper

Cornerback: Trevon Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, DaRon Bland, Jourdan Lewis, Noah Igbinoghene, Eric Scott Jr., Nahshon Wright

Safety: Jayron Kearse, Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, Israel Mukuamu, Markquese Bell, Juanyeh Thomas

Special Teams: P Bryan Anger, K Brandon Aubrey

Cowboys add Trey Lance from 49ers

The Dallas Cowboys made waves ahead of the roster deadline this week, trading with the San Francisco 49ers for third-string quarterback Trey Lance. The Cowboys acquired the 2021 No. 3 overall pick from the 49ers for a future fourth-round pick.

Now Dallas-bound, Lance will get a fresh start after a tumultuous tenure in San Francisco, in which he suited up in just eight games (four starts), throwing for 797 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions on 54.9% passing. Lance’s career suffered a major setback in 2022, as in the second game of the season of his first as QB1, he suffered a season-ending right ankle injury.

In the preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Lance completed 10-of-15 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown for San Francisco. In the follow-up against the Denver Broncos, he completed 12-of-18 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

With Lance inking with Dallas, the Cowboys decided to release Will Grier, bringing the QB room back down to three players.

Another pre-deadline cut the team made was kicker Tristan Vizcaino. He didn’t make it past the first week of the preseason after the Cowboys opted to move forward with Brandon Aubrey.