Jan 16, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Tarell Basham (93) holds up his necklace that reads “hotbeds” during the second half of the NFC Wild Card playoff football game against the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys have some big roster decisions to make before Week 1 and that might lead to some surprise cuts that fans might not be expecting.
Cutdown day and the week leading up to it isn’t going to be an easy process for the Dallas Cowboys. There are roster decisions that need to be made at wide receiver, particularly with the emergence of KaVontae Turpin, in addition to offensive line, defensive line, and perhaps the defensive back room as well.
The team has seemingly made a decision on the starting kicker, though few fans will probably be happy about the return of Brett Maher after how his first tenure in Dallas concluded.
But as the final preseason game approaches and with the roster having to be trimmed down to the final 53 players soon, there are going to be some hard choices made for the roster, which will lead to some surprise cuts. And these three players could be among those surprise cuts for the Cowboys roster.
3. Cowboys surprise cut: EDGE Tarell Basham
After coming to Dallas last season on the heels of his first contract in the NFL with the Jets, Basham played on 55% of the snaps for Dan Quinn’s defense as a left defensive end and was fine, accruing 3.5 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss and 11 QB hits on the season.
Really, with the Cowboys seemingly having a renewed focus on developing younger players and giving opportunities, the final defensive end spot is likely going to come down to either Basham or newcomer Dante Fowler Jr. With the upside of Fowler, he figures to be the guy who will get the nod, leaving Basham in the cold.
The wiser move would be for Dallas to try and find a trade partner for either Basham or Fowler, whichever veteran they decide to move on from in this group. But if that doesn’t happen, then one of them is certainly not making the 53-man roster. For me, Basham makes the most sense to be gone.