Cowboys set initial 53-man roster, part ways with three draft picks
The Dallas Cowboys have set their initial 53-man roster.
Jameill Showers remains the third quarterback for now, and the Cowboys are carrying two fullbacks in Rod Smith and Keith Smith.
Among the notable cuts were three draft picks – wide receiver Devin Street (5th rounder in 2014), defensive end Ryan Russell (5th rounder in 2015) and tight end Rico Gathers (6th rounder in 2016).
The Cowboys also placed running back Darren McFadden on the non-football injury list, meaning he won’t be eligible to play in the first six games. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was placed on the reserve/ suspended list as he’ll miss the first four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
Other players cut: linebackers Derek Akunne, Brandon Hepburn and Deon King; offensive linemen Jake Brendel, Ryan Mack, Boston Stiverson and Bryan Witzmann; defensive linemen Rodney Coe and Lawrence Okoye; wide receivers Andy Jones and Vince Mayle; cornerbacks Isaiah Frey and Deji Olatoye; tight end Austin Traylor; quarterback Jerrod Johnson; and punter Matt Wile.
Defensive end Mike McAdoo was waived/ injured after sustaining an injury in the preseason finale against Houston on Thursday.
Russell and Jones are a couple notable cuts given their training camp buzz.
Russell was given plenty of chances to earn his way on the roster, but didn’t. Russell appeared in one game a season ago and didn’t take the strides the Cowboys had hoped going into his sophomore season.
Another player who made news throughout training camp was Jones, an undrafted player out of Jacksonville University. Jones had impressive practices but struggled in games.
Russell, Jones and Gathers are among the candidates for the Cowboys’ practice squad.
Here is a look at the initial 53-man roster (Yes, Mark Sanchez will sign but it’s not official yet as the Cowboys will need to make a corresponding roster move):
Quarterbacks (3)
Tony Romo
Dak Prescott
Jameill Showers
Running backs (4)
Ezekiel Elliott
Alfred Morris
Lance Dunbar
Darius Jackson
Fullbacks (2)
Keith Smith
Rod Smith
Wide receivers (5)
Dez Bryant
Terrance Williams
Cole Beasley
Brice Butler
Lucky Whitehead
Tight ends (3)
Jason Witten
Gavin Escobar
Geoff Swaim
Offensive linemen (8)
Tyron Smith
La’el Collins
Travis Frederick
Zack Martin
Doug Free
Chaz Green
Joe Looney
Ron Leary
Defensive linemen (8)
Tyrone Crawford
Terrell McClain
Cedric Thornton
Jack Crawford
David Irving
Benson Mayowa
Charles Tapper
Maliek Collins
Linebackers (7)
Sean Lee
Damien Wilson
Anthony Hitchens
Andrew Gachkar
Mark Nzeocha
Justin Durant
Kyle Wilber
Cornerbacks (5)
Brandon Carr
Orlando Scandrick
Morris Claiborne
Dax Swanson
Anthony Brown
Safeties (5)
Byron Jones
Barry Church
Jeff Heath
Kavon Frazier
J.J. Wilcox
Specialists (3)
Dan Bailey
Chris Jones
L.P. LaDouceur
This story was originally published September 3, 2016 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Cowboys set initial 53-man roster, part ways with three draft picks."