3 Cowboys who won’t be on the roster after training camp

These are three training camp cut candidates for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. Spoiler alert: they’re all on defense.

With Dallas Cowboys training camp underway, football season has officially started. As is usually the case, the Cowboys enter 2023 with another heavy burden of expectations. Divisional competition has only gotten tougher — the NFC East includes the Super Bowl runner-ups, a re-invigorated Giants squad, and a hungry Commanders side — and the Cowboys have a fire burning under them after last year’s playoff disappointment.

Every year, the Cowboys get hyped up. And every year, they inevitably fall short.

Is this year the year?

It all begins at training camp. Some positional groups are pretty much set in stone, like the wide receiver unit. Dallas has three solid starters, two former draft picks, and one player coming off a Pro Bowl campaign — that room probably won’t get shaken up.

As for the other units… What veterans are in danger of losing their jobs? What youngsters could find themselves on the outside looking in?

Here are three Cowboys players who may not make the final 53-man roster.

Cowboys’ training camp cut candidate No. 3: Devin Harper, LB

Historically, the Cowboys have gone six-deep at the linebacker position. This season, they might go with five because of how much talent they have in the backfield and because their safeties tend to be more versatile than others.

Dan Quinn usually puts two or fewer true linebackers on the field and relies on one of his safeties to step up at the position, which means the Cowboys can afford to go leaner at linebacker and perhaps open up a spot elsewhere on the roster for a position that requires more depth.

If Dallas considers dropping one linebacker, it may very well be Devin Harper, the Cowboys’ 2022 sixth-rounder. Harper has contributed more on special teams during his brief time in the league, but in this training camp, his minor role could be easily usurped by others.

Leighton Vander Esch and Damone Clark are easy lock-ins. Jabril Cox and DeMarvion Overshown both have high ceilings and particularly thrive in coverage; UDFA Isaiah Land holds an edge with his skills as a blitzer.

That leaves Devin Harper as the odd man out. Barring an incredible camp from the Oklahoma hard-hitter, Harper’s time in Dallas may be very short-lived.