IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys have their 53-man roster - for now.
They ended up going heavy, no pun intended, on the offensive line, keeping 11 of those guys - for now.
They went heavy at cornerback, and who knows, maybe they couldn't decide which guy to cut, Evan Oglesby or Alan Ball, so they kept them both, meaning seven cornerbacks - for now.
They went light at healthy wide receiver, keeping the top five, as expected, but meaning they have only two assured of playing come Sept. 7 on the 53-man roster - for now.
They stayed the course at linebacker, even if two guys are recovering from knee surgeries, though Kevin Burnett likely will resume practicing on Wednesday. Meaning they kept eight (four starters, four backups) - for now.
And there really were no surprises at quarterback, keeping two - for now.
So here is my guess: If you had been watching the Cowboys for all these many weeks since training camp began, and through the four preseason games, there should have been no problem cutting 20 of the 22 guys off this roster. Really few surprises . . . for now.
And as it turned out, these were just a few questions the Cowboys had to answer here Saturday morning, and all afternoon, since the NFL changed the time for the final cuts to 5 p.m. (CDT) since NFL Network had a 6 p.m. Cut Show scheduled, I'm guessing.
Do we cut Alan Ball or Evan Oglesby? The answer became neither, somehow the Cowboys unable to come to grips with releasing a guy they think can play in this league even if that meant having to keep more corners than they've kept in quite some time. But if they should find a player on the waiver wire that they just have to have, or already have put in a claim, they could afford to release either one of these guys down the road.
Do we cut James Marten or possibly place Kyle Kosier on injured reserve since he figures to be out almost half the season and since we just traded for Montrae Holland? The answer evidently was no and no, the Cowboys keeping an extra offensive lineman today, but again, who knows what happens tomorrow. (Marten is practice-squad eligible.)
Do we chance trying to get sixth-round draft choice Erik Walden through waivers and onto the practice squad? The answer was yes, and I'm guessing because the converted outside linebacker is making a position change, few teams would be interested in a guy who has shown promise on special teams, but has done little so far at outside linebacker. They will cross their fingers here.
Do we keep three quarterbacks, meaning keeping Richard Bartel? Or go with two as last year, hope to get Bartel through waivers onto the practice squad and then peruse the list of quarterbacks Saturday night landing on the waiver wire, which now includes Chris Simms, Joey Harrington, Anthony Wright and possibly Bruce Gradkowski? And the answer was yes. Really not surprising.
And finally, do we keep as many as six wide receivers, maybe even more, just because there now are only two totally healthy ones in the locker room? The answer was no, the Cowboys deciding against keeping either Danny Amendola or Mike Jefferson and sorting through the NFL cuts to see if they can pick up a better one with at least a little NFL experience.
Now for those wringing their hands, quit. Come on, if the Cowboys had kept either Amendola or Jefferson, they would have been no better than roster insurance on game day. If all stands as is, Jason Witten will be the third receiver in the nickel. Or Felix Jones will motion out to become the third receiver in the nickel. And absolutely nothing against Jefferson and Amendola, but they played an entire game on Thursday night against the Vikings' second- and third-teamers, and finished with three and two receptions, respectively. What happens when they go up against the Big Boys?
The Cowboys might not be done here, although they might get Isaiah Stanback back for Sunday's game against Cleveland. They will watch the wire, and yes, they know Ashley Lelie and Reche Caldwell have been released. The same with Eddie Drummond and Jamaica Rector. And they know Terry Glenn is still out there.
But you sign Lelie, Caldwell or Glenn, and they are yours for the season, or as I said on Friday, at least their contracts. None of that - for now - seems to get them excited. Remember, the Cowboys' injury situation is not everlasting, although Sam Hurd, while out at least for the opener, could be gone a month with this high ankle sprain, Miles Austin likely is another three weeks and Stanback is in limbo.
Here is the other thing. Teams are not finished adjusting their rosters, just as the Cowboys aren't. There could be other receivers of interest released in the next couple of days. No sense jumping to conclusions unless the guy you really want becomes available. So what they can do, assuming Amendola and Jefferson clear waivers, is go through practice this week and then on Friday sign one of them to the 53-man roster if bringing only two healthy receivers to Cleveland ultimately makes them nervous.
Cutting a guy on Friday you sort of like, and maybe can squeeze onto the practice squad 24 hours later, has a better chance of clearing waivers when teams are two days away from opening the season than they are this weekend.
Or, with the addition of Holland, you might have a chance to trade one of your backup guards for something, say a Cory Procter or Joe Berger instead of releasing, say, Marten, who appeared to be the odd man out, even if he was a third-round pick last year. Or maybe someone might give you a conditional pick for Marten at some point.
And this also buys the Cowboys some time with Kosier, who is expected to be out, remember, at least six weeks. But who knows? He might be out longer, which if he is, and if either Pat McQuistan, Joe Berger, Cory Procter or now Holland can handle left guard, then maybe Kosier lands on IR - opening up a roster spot.
See, that's why I'm saying, "As you were." Don't start screaming about why this or why that? Just settle down. None of this is etched in stone, and my advice to guys such as Marten, Ball, Oglesby and even Courtney Brown - the Cowboys have spoken with Keith Davis' rep - is not to buy a house tomorrow because this is a fluid situation.
This is only the Cowboys' 53-man roster . . .
For now.
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Mickey Spagnola - 
