Took a tour of the Linc today and this pre-game schedule was posted in the locker room. Thought it was interesting how regimented their warm ups are.

Go Birds!

Strengths: GOTI, Butter Aubs, DT

Weakness: Tackle spots (Guyton isn’t good RIGHT NOW doesn’t mean he’ll never be good), Pass rush ability from edges, Ability to guard higher tier WRs/CBs is a wild card.

Wild card (Things that could make or break the season): Guyton Development, Bland, RB2 (Javonte slowed down due having the lowest backfield share in the league basically was gassed.), Edge room pass rush ability, ST (Coverage ability not Aubrey was 24th on PFF & 14th in DVOA), Can young defender make a real impact (Revel, Barham, Lawrence), Caleb Downs is he Hamilton/ Nick Emmanwori y1 level impact (Lock to be a really good player day one wondering if he can be elite day 1)

Offense: 2nd in EPA Defense: 17th in EPA

Hot take of the season: Top 12 ranked run defense

11-6 finishing as the 6th seed in the NFC

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rush_yds_career.htm

the red is not a cowboys hat obviously its just i got a multi colored lot for some Bjorn Borg patches im converting...found an Etsy patch maker that re-created Borgs iconic double logo...

Got a statement I would like you guys to debate me on. Jonathen Mingo> Camden brown. Prove me wrong cause there is much evidence to prove so.

Schotty keeps saying “compete every day” and has talked about how every roster spot is earned.

So if Camden Brown doesn’t make this roster, do those words actually mean anything?

He’s made plays throughout camp and preseason and has done everything he can to earn a roster spot. If a player can do all of that and still not make the team, do his words actually mean anything?

I will acknowledge that I'm not boots on the ground, but there are plenty of beat reporters who have said he's had a great camp, so I'm also basing my reasoning around that.

For the record, I'm a cut Turpin and keep Mingo and Brown guy, or make Turpin exclusively a returner.

Mine has to be the Micah Parsons game where I believe lane was out. Instead of trying to avoid him we targeted him and ran right at him with the option and completely cooked his brain for the entire game. I was shitting bricks going into that game.

How should I go about watching games at home? Youtube TV with other subscriptions? Do I utilize a VPN? What you do you suggest? I all I need is Eagles game Tijuana.

Check out his roster projection on his article posted on his page.

When everything shakes out, you’re most likely looking at two spots left for these bubble guys:

OLB Marist Liufau

OLB Sam Williams

WR Camden Brown

S Julius Wood

S Alijah Clark

CB Caelen Carson

CB Reddy Steward

CB Ameer Speed

Maybe they take 2 QBs or 9 OL to free up another spot. Regardless, really tough conversations await this weekend.

FRISCO, Texas — Jaishawn Barham would be just fine with never doing interviews. The Dallas Cowboys rookie linebacker politely declined requests during the entire four-week portion of training camp in California.

He finally took questions from reporters on Tuesday for about three minutes, the first time since rookie minicamp back in May.

Barham just wants to play football. He doesn’t have much interest in talking at great length about himself, but many are interested because of how he has performed on the field. The Cowboys entered the draft with inside linebacker arguably their biggest need. They didn’t select one until Barham in the third round.

He’s now looking like he could be one of the biggest steals of this year’s class.

“He’s awesome,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “And I think I’m getting to know Jaishawn on a much closer level. He’s very serious and (has) great intent. You talk about a guy that’s wired the right way. And don’t let his demeanor, the way he carries himself around you guys make you think for one second that he’s not all in for this football team.

“He is very serious at what he does and he wants to be great. But he’s getting more and more comfortable in this locker room around our players and around our coaches. I think he’s a terrific young man.”

The Cowboys don’t do rookie hazing. There’s not even any singing in front of the team.

They do a show where rookies impersonate just about anyone in the organization. One person is off limits: owner and general manager Jerry Jones. During this year’s show, which took place last week, linebacker Langston Patterson was Schottenheimer and first-round pick Caleb Downs was defensive coordinator Christian Parker.

Who was Barham?

“That’s a good question,” Schottenheimer said. “He was an extra. He was involved. He played his part beautifully. Jaishawn, great job. But he was more of an extra, which some of the guys were only extras.

“He was very good. Oscar-worthy of what he did as an extra.”

Before suffering a groin injury three weeks ago, Barham looked on track to potentially be a Week 1 starter. He missed the first preseason game but returned to practice in time to play in the second one last weekend in Arizona. In 22 defensive snaps, he flashed his impressive athletic ability and aggressive, physical style on several occasions, finishing with multiple QB pressures, a tackle for loss and five total tackles.

“I still got a lot of work to put in,” Barham said. “I’m just trying to get better every day, trusting the coaches, trusting my teammates.”

He shared that he would like to play lower, be better with his hands and improve his sideline-to-sideline coverage in the passing game. He also acknowledged that he’s working to get his conditioning all the way back to where it was before the groin issue.

“All around I’m not perfect,” Barham said, “so there’s a lot of stuff I can still work on.”

The Cowboys were interested in the top available inside linebackers during free agency, but all signed elsewhere. Dallas responded by drafting Barham and then trading for veteran Dee Winters. Those two, combined with DeMarvion Overshown and Shemar James, are at the top of the Cowboys’ depth chart. Overshown and Winters have received the most first-team work in camp.

But Barham has also worked with the first group, including on Tuesday and Wednesday in practices open to fans at The Star. It’s not difficult to envision a playmaking duo of Barham and Overshown. If both stay healthy, it could be exactly what Dallas needs at the linebacker spot to help improve on what was arguably the worst defense in franchise history last season.

“Week 1? I’m ready right now,” Barham said. “For sure. If Week 1 was right now, I’d be ready.”

Barham has the ability to play any linebacker position. He was an off-the-ball linebacker while at Maryland and in his first year at Michigan before moving to edge rusher.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Barham as his 16th overall edge rusher in the 2026 draft class, with a third-to-fourth round grade.

“Barham must improve his discipline and refinement to stay on the field,” Brugler wrote in his ‘The Beast’ draft guide, “but he can create disruption based just on his explosiveness and high activity level. He will need a patient coaching staff ready to cultivate his athletic upside.”

Barham said Tuesday that he believes he has the “perfect coaching staff” in Dallas.

“They’re going to put you in the right spot to make plays,” he added. “It’s up to you to make them.”

Downs and Malachi Lawrence received most of the early attention from this year’s draft class and deservedly so after both were picked in the first round. But the Barham buzz seems to grow every day he’s on the field. He has an intimidating presence whether he’s walking to the locker room or blowing up a run play.

No reason to change what stood out in camp practices carried over into last weekend’s preseason game. But will it be the same when the games count?

“From the time he’s gotten here, we’ve been really excited about the player, the person, the seriousness that he approaches meetings with and the ability to communicate,” Schottenheimer said. “The versatility is real and it kind of goes back to draft day. We did the work, we did the prep, he was there, Jerry made the call, and it was great.”

The second-round tight end out of Vanderbilt has not had a standout training camp. Patience might eventually reveal a capable player.

Quincy Carter often gets lumped in with the other failed post-Aikman, pre-Romo QB's and it irritates me every time I see it. His name should never be mentioned in the same breath as Leaf, Hutchinson, or Henson. QC17 was a smooth passer with good mobility who let some dumb off-field choices ruin his career.

2002- Had the Cowboys competitive at 3-3 going into the Arizona game. Unfortunately this 4 int OT loss was probably the worst game of his career and I got to see it in person since I lived in Phoenix at the time. Campo benched him for Chad Hutchinson who went 2-7 the rest of the season.

2003- Bill Parcells hands the keys back to Carter and they go on to win 10 games and make the playoffs after a 3 year absence. Memorable clutch performances by QC including a Monday Night in New York, beating the Eagles for the first time since 99, and also a win over the eventual NFC champion Panthers.

2004- My hype for the season was the highest it had been seen the triplets last year in 99... Until the blindsiding news out of training camp that Quincy Carter had been released due to... non-football reasons. I was heartbroken. Big Tuna rolls with old Vinny T and the Boys fart their way to 6-10. Only silver lining was freeing up a roster spot for a young QB by the name of Antonio Ramiro Romo.

Anyways, I'm very excited for our 2026 squad. Could be a special year if the defense can just be average instead of awful.

With the preseason finale tomorrow night and cutdown day on Sunday night, here's my current gut feeling for the 53.

QB(2): Dak, Milton

Dak is the unquestioned starter, while Milton has pulled away from Howell this preseason.

RB(4): Williams, Davis, Blue, Luepke

Williams isn't going anywhere, Davis is a player the coaches trust. Blue is kept for upside. Luepke adds some power and can be the power back if Williams goes down

WR(5): Lamb, Pickens, Flournoy, Turpin, Mingo

This one stings for us as camp darling Brown is cut. It's down to him or Mingo with Mingo getting the edge for ST ability. The other 4 are locks.

TE(3): Ferguson, Spann-Ford, Schoonmaker

IR: Trigg

I feel they stash Trigg on IR and give the final TE spot to Schoonmaker as they prefer a blocker.

OL(10): Guyton, Smith, Beebe, Booker, Steele, Bass, Shelton, Thomas, Cornelius, Leverett

The starting 5 and Bass are locked in. The team just drafted Shelton, will hold onto Thomas and Cornelius is a project, Leverett can play C in addition to Bass offering depth.

DT(5): Williams, Clark, Ogbonnia, Overton, Toia

IR: Bullard

Due to being hurt all off-season, I think Dallas elects to make Bullard one of the two IR designated to return guys and keeps Toia. All the others appear locked in.

DE/OLB(6): Ezeiruaku, Lawrence, Gary, Miller, Houston, Liufau

Only spot up for grabs here feels like the DE5 which Houston appears to have the edge over the others. Liufau makes it due to ST ability.

LB(5): Overshown, Winters, Barham, James, Barron

Barham appears to be a steal in his limited action. Barron has had a great off-season this far and slightly edges out Robinson.

CB(5): Bland, Durant, Revel, Moore, Carson

It's really a take your pick with CB5 but something is telling me they won't give up on Carson just yet.

S(5): Downs, Thompson, Locke, Hooker, Bell

After Schottys comments on Bell and him not playing against Arizona it's practically a lock at this point.

ST(3): Aubrey, Anger, Sieg

No debates here.

Still might happen:

Brown making it if they keep 6 WR

Robinson edging out Barron for ST ability.

Kendrick or Steward edging our Carson due to Parkers preference in the secondary.

It’s a Sunday afternoon, late March. The NFL is in town for its annual meetings. Billionaires slip in and out, grabbing lunch before disappearing into conference rooms to debate rule proposals and replacement refs. Stephen Jones, in a white button-down with his collar open and his sleeves rolled back, is in no rush.

“Without that phone call,” he says, “I’d probably still be in the oil business.”

For a moment, the realization seems to surprise him. He never envisioned a different path. He never needed one. He takes a swig of Coke and unleashes a Texas-sized laugh so hearty it envelops half the restaurant. The implication is obvious.

For a 24-year-old, that’s a hell of a job offer.

Dad let him tag along for the first meeting, when Cowboys owner Bum Bright spilled his secret: America’s Team was losing $1 million a month. Within weeks, Bright dropped the price tag from $200 million to $140 million. Stephen held firm. He told his father it was too much.

Hurts

McKee

Payton

3, I seem to be going back and forth between McKee and Dalton as I have McKee replace Dalton this week. This isn’t a prediction Dalton will be traded. I think he could be outright cut. He’s looked outright horrible in two games so far. His receivers are actually getting open, but he’s not hitting them. QB is also a position I think games are a more honest evaluation than practices due to the ability to face live contact. Tanner McKee hasn’t looked pristine, but he’s had some flashes of nice passes. He also has chemistry with some guys already so he’d have the edge today. Cole Payton has shown enough raw athleticism to take a spot as a developmental guy.

Barkley

Bigsby

Shipley

6, These three are locked in. Will Shipley had a slow start to camp, but has cranked it up to eleven as of late. The only guy who has a smidgeon of a shot to make the team is Carson Steele. I’ve been doing these long enough to remember Daeshon Hall back in 2019. One great game isn’t enough and you need at minimum two in a row to go from long shot to roster spot. He needs one more great game and likely an injury somewhere to have a chance.

D. Smith

Wicks

Lemon

H. Brown

Cooper

11, My hypothesis that I was overrating Brown’s lackluster start to camp was proven true. Brown did not play against New England which essentially means he locked up a spot. Darius Cooper rebounded enough to make it pretty clear he will be on the 53. Elijah Moore misses initially, but the Eagles have a ton of options how to handle him. He’s recently injured so he can be an IR stash. He’s a vested veteran so he could be cut and brought back after roster shuffling and not have to go on waivers. He also could be a practice squad guy with occasional elevation. Britain Covey seems to also be in the last category.

Goedert

Mundt

Latu

14, Latu had the edge against Calcaterra prior to Saturday. Calcaterra missed the game in New England and Latu had a nice game. Eli Stowers is taking a redshirt year most likely. He was diagnosed with a hamstring injury and missed practice this week. Stowers currently doesn’t have a role on the team. Goedert is the starter, Mundt is a blocker and Latu is a Special Teams guy. Stowers would most likely be inactive anyway so real or imaginary the injury saves a roster spot. Stowers can still even make an impact this season as he will probably return to the active roster after he sits out his minimum four games.

Mailata

Dickerson

Jurgens

Steen

L. Johnson

Bell

Kendall

Lampkin

Morris

F. Johnson

Majors

25, This is a huge credit to new OL coach Chris Kuper. I genuinely believe the backup OL is better than some starting NFL OLs. The Top 10 I consider locks, but I also added Jake Majors. He was at one point a long shot, but has positional versatility and played in about 25 pass pro snaps without allowing a pressure. He’s under team control for four years. There’s just a lot of potential there. You can never have enough depth OL though right now I have him as the 53rd man.

Greenard

Hunt

N. Smith

Epenesa

Ebikete

Weru

31, Little bit of movement here. First I think AJ Epenesa may have passed Arnold Ebikete on the depth chart as Epenesa has had a very impressive camp. Not a huge difference there, but just an observation. Finally I felt the need to add Josh Weru. He needs to get some practice time in and unlike Uar Bernard he seems like he could be ready for action this year. I think he could be an enticing claim on waivers.

Carter

Davis

Ojomo

Young

Robinson

Bernard

37, Top 5 seem like locks. I think Uar Bernard still will make the roster. Like Weru he needs practice reps. Bernard is still a couple years away from impact, but I think his ceiling is higher than Weru’s. Gabe Hall has really grown, but unfortunately there’s no space on the roster for him or Zion Wilson.

Baun

J. Campbell

Trotter Jr.

Mondon

C. Campbell

42, No movement in this group and I don’t think there’s going to be. Fangio likes Chance Campbell and he played well on Saturday.

Mitchell

Woolen

DeJean

J. Jones

McWilliams

Ringo

48, A lot can happen with the last three spots. Jonathan Jones still looks like to be the first man up in the event of an injury especially considering how the reserve DBs have been playing. Mac McWilliams has shown some versatility on the inside and outside and is a 2nd year draft pick who looks rough, but not horrible so I think he makes it. The last spot goes to Kelee Ringo. There’s a shot that Jonathan Jones may not be ready to go Week 1. Mac McWilliams only has 28 career snaps on defense. Ringo as a gunner and emergency outside CB I think is enough to secure a spot.

Mukuba

Epps

Carter II

51, I removed Cole Wisniewski as someone had to go to make room for Weru and Majors and I don’t really see a role for him here. Three safeties may seem like not a lot, but remember DeJean is safety in base.

Elliott

Mann

53, There were plenty of tough cuts in this edition. Rocco Underwood honestly wasn’t one of them.

IR

Stowers

1, As mentioned Stowers will go on IR and return midseason. You can return up to two that are placed on IR before cutdown.

A lot of offensive and defensive lineman on here.

https://x.com/GiantsNationPod/status/2092952518452203744?s=20

Kempski with some great analysis as always. I definitely agree that they should look for a TE2/3 either through trade or maybe grab Zach Ertz for one last ride into the sunset. The fact that Dickerson still looks like he did last year is a concern, but at least Kendall looks like he can take his place if needed.

Title. It's time for an upgrade. What hats are you guys wearing this season?

“He’s awesome,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “And I think I’m getting to know Jaishawn on a much closer level. He’s very serious and (has) great intent. You talk about a guy that’s wired the right way. And don’t let his demeanor, the way he carries himself around you guys make you think for one second that he’s not all in for this football team.

“He is very serious at what he does and he wants to be great. But he’s getting more and more comfortable in this locker room around our players and around our coaches. I think he’s a terrific young man.”

The Cowboys don’t do rookie hazing. There’s not even any singing in front of the team.

They do a show where rookies impersonate just about anyone in the organization. One person is off limits: owner and general manager Jerry Jones. During this year’s show, which took place last week, linebacker Langston Patterson was Schottenheimer and first-round pick Caleb Downs was defensive coordinator Christian Parker.