ARLINGTON, Texas – Let's not get hung up on numbers. They are rather hollow.
Most of what we saw out here Saturday night at AT&T Stadium is not indicative of just who these Dallas Cowboys might be this 2025 season.
And this must be eating away at head coach Brian Schottenheimer. He's a proud man. And these raw losses are no fun for a first-time head coach who is champing at the bit to prove he is capable of handling this job. But he knows the score. He's trying to build a team, not win the preseason, and knows his success does not solely depend on his starting players. He must go through these growing pains to build depth, to sort through all these others to make an educated decision on who stays and who goes.
"We are in the evaluation business," head coach Brian Schottenheimer emphasized on Monday.
At this point, with one preseason game to go and the final cuts scheduled to go down on Aug. 26, bet he could reel off like 35 to 40 players who will make this 53-man roster, health willing. And of that number, 16 of those players did not play against the Ravens. It's those other 13 to 18 spots he must figure out. Meaning, on a 91-man roster, give these guys enough snaps during these preseason games to sort through.
So don't get all bent out a shape about Baltimore coming in here and spanking the Cowboys, 31-13. Don't start sweating the Ravens totaling 399 yards to the Cowboys' 176. Nor, after giving up 181 yards rushing to the Rams last week, the Cowboys giving up another 148 to Baltimore. Or the facts this offense only totaled seven first downs, converted just 2 of 11 third-down opportunities. Or that during their 12 possessions they went three-and-out seven times, picking up one first down four times, with one drive totaling multiple first downs (three), along with three drives finishing with minus yards gained.
Worse, at a time these coaches need to evaluate performances under the lights, this inefficient offense only allowed them but 17 snaps in the first half to do so, that and with the defense's inability to get off the field, the Ravens were hogging the ball for what might be a record first-half total of 50 snaps compared to an average of like 60 to 70 snaps … for the game.
Geesh.
But here is what's making constructing this 53-man roster together for the season opener against the world champion Philadelphia Eagles so difficult:
The players who are not here.
Start with Micah Parsons, under contract for a guaranteed $21 million, and remember because of that, at this point Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is in no hurry to cave into whatever his contract demands might be, and that not only includes total package, but total guarantees, signing bonus and length, knowing if he so chooses, the Cowboys can retain Parsons' rights for three more seasons with the looming franchise tag possibly consuming the final two of those.
And Schottenheimer said he doesn't expect any change this week in what Parsons has been doing, or better yet, not doing during his "hold-in."
Then there is Trevon Diggs. Getting closer to being ready to play football following his knee surgery but still lacking it seems the necessary conditioning to play as an elite cornerback he likely would have been had he rehabbed under the Cowboys' training staff jurisdiction. He's still rehabbing with Cowboys rehab specialists Britt Brown.
Bad enough to potentially be missing a Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback, but the Cowboys also are missing three more potential starting corners with Josh Butler still rehabbing from his ACL tear, same with third-round draft choice Shavon Revel and now Caelen Carson has been out with a bum knee. So at this point, it's DaRon Bland and Kaiir Elam, who started just five of 20 games last season for Buffalo, counting playoffs, and TBD.
That's why you were seeing the likes of Andrew Booth, Troy Pride, Christian Matthew, Israel Mukuamu and Bruce Harmon out there scrambling to not only make the team but potentially being forced into a starting role.
Then running back. The Cowboys can't afford to expose Javonte Williams to injury in meaningless games. Mile Sanders did start, but the veteran just got back into practice this past week. And now Jaydon Blue having an entire week with the knee/ankle injury, so you didn't see two of those three playing.
On the offensive line, Tyler Booker finally played. The rookie is your starting right guard, and face it, he's no Zack Martin … yet. Say what you want about Tyley Guyton, but he's no better than questionable to be ready for the first game. That means at this point seems Nate Thomas is the all-important starting left tackle, and he hasn't played a full football game since 2023 with Louisiana. So when it came to experience out there Saturday night, considering those who played, the most experienced of the bunch is Geron Christian in his eighth season, with no starts in five of those seven years.
And then the elephant in the room, or maybe the one who isn't anymore. Capable veteran backup quarterback Cooper Rush was heaving the ball for the Ravens, throwing for 198 yards, and his two interceptions were both off the hands of his intended receivers.
But for the Cowboys, they were witnessing the continual growing pains of Joe Milton, in his second NFL season with all of one NFL game played. Seems almost inconceivable he is ready to be a backup NFL quarterback. In his second preseason start, he completed nine of 18 passes for 122 yards, one interception, two sacks – one for a safety – and a QB rating of 48.8. And get this, of the 122 yards passing, three of his completions accounted for 102 yards. Yep, he connected on that 49 yarder to Jonathan Mingo, a honey of a throw, but too many times he was either way off target or way late.
Not a single touchdown produced by the Cowboys offense.
Schottenheimer is committed to starting Milton Friday in the third and final preseason game: "The guy we want to find out more about." Will Grier will be the backup. Dak Prescott isn't playing.
Having learned from the late Larry Lacewell, a longtime college defensive coordinator, head coach and Cowboys personnel confidant, the one position you can't fake is quarterback. And when it comes to the backup quarterback position, if your backup must play, the guy doesn't have to win games for you, but what you don't want under any circumstance is him losing games for you.
Hopefully, this gives a better understanding of where the Cowboys currently are in this preseason with the likes of Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, KaVontae Turpin, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Smith, Solomon Thomas, Osa Odighizuwa, Kenneth Murray, Dante Fowler, Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson and Terence Steele, along with the injured, rehabbing guys and the dude searching for a contract extension not playing.
These are the cards the Cowboys are playing with. And while protecting health and in turn the salary cap, they must hope they can turn it on once these games count, that practicing will make all the difference in the world heading into the opener.
"I want these next two practices to be ass-killers," Schottenheimers says of the continued player evaluation but also player preparation for the opener.
So for now, for one more preseason game, assuming there is no change of heart on playing these critical guys dependent on any success the Cowboys might have during the 2025 season, they must endure one more night like the first two before the real deal comes around on Sept. 4.
Bet Schotty can't wait.
Bet you can't either if you're able to hang tight until then.
