Dallas City News

Mailbag: Is depth at tackle a concern? – Nick Harris, Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com

Depth may be an issue at tackle.

With Chuma Edoga’s injury, how concerned should we be about the depth at tackle? Are Matt Waletzko and Josh Ball no longer in the plans? We’ve heard nothing about them. – Richard Morris/Irving, TX

Nick Harris: The tackle depth is certainly a concern, as it’s expected that Edoga will miss as much as eight weeks. The Cowboys will need bodies in the meantime, and the only one filling that void at left tackle specifically behind Tyler Guyton is Asim Richards. Matt Waletzko and Josh Ball are firmly set on the right side of the line as depth options to Terence Steele, but the Cowboys will need help on the left side. There are some experienced veterans still available in free agency, but it might cost a bit more than Dallas is ready to spend.

Mickey Spagnola: Well at best, Edoga was going to be the backup swing tackle. The Cowboys sorely need Tyler Guyton to develop into the starting left tackle as quickly as possible. Edoga never was going to be the answer to start at left tackle. And as for Waletzko and Ball, they are in a fight to make this 53-man roster. While they have been around for a few years, neither has played much in actual NFL games, Ball just 13 games in three seasons (mostly special teams) and Waletzko just four games in two previous seasons. Both have spent so much time on IR. The Cowboys seem intent on developing young talent, guys such as Asim Richards, Earl Bostick, T.J. Bass and newcomers Cooper Beebe and Nathan Thomas. And in the NFL, with a lack of offensive line talent across the league, it’s hard to find experienced free agents to supplement your offensive line room.

Dallas Cowboys sign OT Cohl Cabral, waive injured DE Shaka Toney – Staff, DMN

In Wednesday’s practice, backup tackle Earl Bostick was carted off with an ankle injury, and the Cowboys reacted by immediately signing Cohl Cabral, one of two players brought in for a tryout in the wake of Edoga’s injury.

The Dallas Cowboys have signed offensive tackle Cohl Cabral to add some depth to the offensive line.

In a corresponding move, the Cowboys will waive defensive end Shaka Toney, who is dealing with a groin injury.

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Cowboys acquire veteran DT Jordan Phillips from Giants – Todd Archer, ESPN

Help is on the way.

According to a source, the Cowboys acquired veteran Jordan Phillips and a 2026 seventh-round pick for a 2026 sixth-round selection.

Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said on Tuesday, “we’re still looking for some [nose tackles],” after Chauncey Golston and Viliami Fehoko were moved back to defensive end. The Cowboys had their eye on a couple of veterans before camp started, including trade talks with another team in addition to the Giants, according to multiple sources, but that deal did not come together.

At 6-6, 341 pounds, Phillips would be the biggest defensive tackle on the roster. Veteran Carl Davis had been slowed by injury recently and the team recently signed Albert Huggins, who was kicked out of Wednesday’s practice after an altercation in pass-rush drills with the Los Angeles Rams.

Cowboys DT Albert Huggins ejected from practice after pushing Rams staff member – RJ Ochoa, BloggingTheBoys.com

The practice session ended early for DT Albert Huggins.

About an hour into practice Cowboys defensive tackle Albert Huggins pushed a member of the Rams staff who was simulating being the quarterback during the drill in question. Obviously pushing the staffer to the ground went too far and the Rams were not pleased.

It is hard to tell what caused Huggins to do this or what was going through his head. Perhaps he has a line of defense that he will offer, but the video is a bit tough to overlook.

Huggins was ejected from the practice session, and as he was, he felt it best to make his feelings known to the Rams.

It also seems that Rams players did not feel that the Cowboys were taking practice all too seriously as they were apparently yelling that Dallas “did not want to practice” which would be an indication that they were insinuating the Cowboys weren’t completely invested.

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Key to Dallas Cowboys exceeding expectations could be new defensive disguises – Jon Machota, The Athletic

Mike Zimmer doing his thing.

If the Cowboys are going to be as good or better than last season, the defense will likely need to carry a larger load. And starting with how Parsons is used, Zimmer’s biggest adjustment from Dan Quinn’s previous defense appears to be more disguises.

“Their disguise now is insane,” Cowboys WR Jalen Brooks said. “It’s insane. (Quinn) had some disguises, but (Zimmer’s) are pretty good. I gotta give him full credit for that. It’s really good. … It’s a lot of little things.”

Moving around Parsons is the most noticeable, but the disguise is happening on all three levels — defensive line, linebacker and secondary.

“The disguise is real,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “It really is. They mask things well. There are defensive fronts where they show you something to draw your attention and then the pressure is coming from someplace else. And then they’ll do the same thing and you think the pressure is coming from one side and it’s coming from the other side or they’re dropping. He knows how to stress protections.”

After practicing against the Cowboys last week, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay mentioned the “great job” Zimmer does mixing things up and how he saw similarities to what Zimmer was doing when he was the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach for eight seasons.

“There’s a lot,” Schottenheimer said. “He does a lot of stuff. You have a solution and he’s got an answer. It’s been great work for us, because last year it was blocking up all of the five down speed rushers. This year, it’s been more of a challenge for us to block up all the different overload blitzes that they have.”

Cowboys’ Trevon Diggs wastes no time, snags highlight reel INT in return to full practice – Calvin Watkins, DMN

Is Trevon Diggs back to his old self?

[Diggs] got plenty of work in team drills, with the highlight being an interception off quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

“It felt good getting back moving around seeing other players flying around, getting adjusted to other players near me,” Diggs said. “It’s good. I got a lot of great work in today.”

Diggs made the pick on an underthrown pass to receiver Demarcus Robinson near the sidelines. Diggs said he got both feet in bounds after retrieving the pass, though the back judge might disagree.

Diggs will not participate in the preseason — most veteran starters won’t — so the joint practice with the Rams and team drills against the Cowboys’ first-team offense are important. The timeframe to get Diggs back worked with the season nearly a month from starting.

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Agent’s Take: Predicting how Cowboys and holdout CeeDee Lamb will end their contract standoff – Joel Corry, CBS Sports

The saga has to come to an end… here’s how it might happen.

The Cowboys will recognize that their desired five-year length for an extension doesn’t reflect the high-end wide receiver market. Lamb will sign a four-year extension but won’t top Jefferson’s deal. It won’t be surprising if Lamb also falls short of Bosa’s $34 million per year. Lamb could end up closer to Bosa than the $33.5 million per year midpoint between Jefferson and Brown’s contracts where his deal is between this midpoint figure and $33.75 million per year.

Jefferson’s contract will be a roadmap for Lamb’s extension. Lamb easily gets the second most overall guarantees and amount fully guaranteed at signing for a wide receiver. He’ll rank third all time in these respective categories. His overall guarantees will be between Joey Bosa’s $102 million and Jefferson’s $110 million. The amount fully guaranteed at signing will be more than T.J. Watt’s $80 million and less than Nick Bosa’s $88 million.

Cowboys still little low in contract offer to hold out WR CeeDee Lamb, but optimism high – Clarence Hill, Star-Telegram

The two sides are inching closer. Slowly.

[Lamb] is looking for a deal in the neighborhood of Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, who is the highest paid nonquarterback in the NFL with an annual salary of $35 million annually.

Now, Lamb is not necessarily asking to top Jefferson. Vice president Stephen Jones has acknowledged that much. But, per a source, the Cowboys remain a few blocks away, with their best offer not yet at $33 million annually.

There is more to getting a deal done than that, as cash flow and structure are part of the process. Work still must be done in all areas. But there is no one on the Cowboys who doesn’t believe ground will be made up and Lamb will back with the team before the start of the season.

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Cowboys will likely take advantage of new NFL rule after latest bad injury news on veteran – Mauricio Rodriguez, AtoZSports.com

The Cowboys should get creative with the NFL & CBA rules.

Dallas Cowboys veteran tackle Chuma Edoga left the team’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams on a walking boot after suffering what we now know to be a big toe injury.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, it’s a dislocated toe that won’t require Edoga to undergo surgery but that should knock him out well into the regular season. How much exactly remains to be seen.

The Cowboys will likely use new Injured Reserve rule

With that in mind, the Cowboys could be one of many NFL teams to take advantage of a new rule in the league. Earlier in the offseason, the way Injured Reserve works received a significant amendment that will change the dynamics of cutdown day.

Before, in order to designate a player to return from IR, he had to be on the 53-man roster for at least one day. Now, that isn’t the case. Instead, teams can place up to two players designated to return on IR during cutdown day. Per the CBA:

“To permit each club to place a maximum of two players who are placed on an applicable Reserve List on the business day of the final roster reduction to be designated for return. Such players will immediately count as two of the club’s total (8) designations.”

It’s important to note that in order for such a move to work, Edoga would need to be placed on IR during cutdown day and not at any point before that. In other words, if the Cowboys were to place Edoga on IR today, he’d be out for the remainder of the season.

Considering the Cowboys’ lack of a clear-cut swing tackle on the depth chart, making the most out of this newly-adjusted rule is a likely path. Placing Edoga on IR would require the veteran to miss a minimum of four games but would give Dallas a lineman they trust down the road.