The NFL preseason is officially halfway done, and that means teams are getting down to brass tacks when it comes to personnel decisions. We're just a week away from the Aug. 26 deadline, by which all 32 clubs need to have whittled their rosters from 90 down to 53. Some tough decisions are about to be made.
And for the Dallas Cowboys, that could mean some big — and shocking — changes. Just listen to what head coach Brian Schottenheimer told reporters when asked about his staff's decision-making process.
“We’re still in the information gathering process,” he said, per The Athletic. “We’ll sit down after we play Friday and we’ll make some decisions about the entire roster. There will probably be some surprises from some of the mock things that are out there in terms of, ‘Hey, I thought for sure this guy was gonna make it.'”
That's about as unsubtle as warnings get this time of year: It doesn't matter your reputation or contract status; if you don't perform, you might not make it to Week 1. And while there ae several cut casualties in Dallas right now, it feels like Schottenheimer is referring to one in particular: former first-round DT Mazi Smith.
Mazi Smith might find himself on the wrong side of Cowboys roster bubble
Arguably no player has been more maligned by his own fan base over the last couple of years than Smith, who was taken in the first round back in 2023 in hopes that he would anchor the Cowboys' run defense for years to come. Instead, the opposite has come true: Stopping the run has been something of an Achilles heel for Dallas' defense, all while Smith has struggled to consistently stay on the field.
Ordinarily, Smith would be safe no matter how he was performing, given that he's about to enter just the third year of a four-year, fully guaranteed rookie contract he signed after being drafted. But Dallas is doing everything it can to communicate to him that he needs to pick up his performance: While other defensive regulars have hardly played at all this preseason, Smith has been out there getting extended run.
He struggled mightily in the team's preseason opener against the Rams, after which DC Matt Eberflus more or less put him on blast.
“It’s important that he does that right and does that well,” Eberflus said following Dallas’ first preseason game. “He’s doing a good job in the drills and all those things, but we got to keep evaluating that process. And we’re all in a competition right now. Nothing is set in stone. Competition for playing time, competition for the roster. And we want it that way, so guys are competing.”
Smith vowed to improve moving forward ... only to once again look largely anonymous this past weekend against the Ravens. At this point, it feels like he is who he is as an NFL level; if the light were going to come on, surely it would have by now, especially against second- and third-string offensive linemen. Then again, Dallas might not have any other choice: If Smith isn't around, it's unclear who will rotate with Osa Odighizuwa and Solomon Thomas.
Perrion Winfrey and rookies Jay Toia and Tommy Akingbesot are the only other internal options. Then again, maybe the Cowboys think they've just seen enough of Smith at this point and would rather roll the dice on an external acquisition. It would be hard to argue against it, even if it would cost a bit of extra money.