At long last, Von Miller is coming home. It was revealed on Sunday that the DeSoto, Texas native who went to Texas A&M will spend the 15th year of his illustrious career with the team he wanted to join all along, the Dallas Cowboys, in a deal that makes so much sense for all involved. Not only is Miller thrilled, but the Cowboys' league-worst defense in 2025 acquired a player who, while not quite as dynamic as he once was, is still productive.
Miller recorded 9.0 sacks last season with the Commanders, and while the Cowboys shouldn't expect that, there's every reason to believe he'll be a valuable depth addition to a defensive unit that looks much better now than it did in 2025. Miller's arrival makes it clear that these five Cowboys players have their work cut out for them when it comes to making the 53-man roster.
EDGE Sam Williams
The biggest name on this list is Sam Williams, Dallas' second-round selection from the 2022 NFL Draft. Williams' NFL career got off to a strong start, with the edge rusher recording 4.0 and 4.5 sacks in his first two seasons, with a combined 16 QB hits, but he missed all of 2024 with an ACL tear and hasn't been the same since. He recorded just 1.0 sack and four QB hits in 2025, and his 57.5 PFF grade was good for 93rd of 115 edge rushers.
The Cowboys brought him back on a one-year prove-it deal, but with Miller joining the likes of Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence and Miller as new faces in Dallas, there might not be enough room for Williams to make an impact. Dallas will presumably look to trade him, but regardless, Miller's arrival makes it harder to envision Williams beginning the year with the Cowboys.
LB Marist Liufau
Speaking of a player on the bubble the Cowboys will probably try to trade, let's talk about Marist Liufau. In theory, Liufau can be a valuable player for the Cowboys. Not only is he making the transition from inside to outside linebacker, but he was a consistent presence on special teams, appearing in 75 percent of special teams snaps. A player who can play inside and outside linebacker on defense while chipping in on special teams sounds like a valuable depth option, especially since he was a 2024 third-round selection by Dallas.
The problem, though, is that Liufau is not very good. Despite Dallas' horrific defense all of 2025, Liufau was never given much of a shot, appearing in just 202 defensive snaps, more than half the amount he appeared in as a rookie in 2024 (521). Going from being a non-factor defensively to changing positions doesn't suggest that he's in the best of standing with his team. Liufau was likely at risk of being a roster casualty even before the Cowboys signed Miller, and now with Miller in the fold, it's even harder to envision Liufau being one of the 53 players to begin the season with the star on his helmet.
EDGE Isaiah Land
Miller's arrival makes an already fairly crowded edge rusher room even more crowded. Look at all the options the Cowboys have at the position.
Player | Career Sacks |
|---|---|
Rashan Gary | 46.5 |
Von Miller | 138.5 |
James Houston | 14.5 |
Donovan Ezeiruaku | 2.0 |
Malachi Lawrence | 0 (Rookie) |
Who is Isaiah Land supposed to leapfrog on the depth chart ahead of the regular season? The only possible answer could be James Houston, but Houston had 5.5 sacks last season for Dallas. Land, on the other hand, has 1.0 sack in 18 NFL games spanning three seasons. Sometimes, roster decisions come down to the numbers, and even if the Cowboys were to keep six edge rushers (probably unlikely) there's a good chance they'd prioritize either Williams or Liufau, who at least were high draft picks, over Land, who was an undrafted free agent.
EDGE Tyrus Wheat
Another victim of the numbers game could be Tyrus Wheat, a player Dallas brought back on a one-year, $1.75 million deal this offseason after he spent the 2025 campaign with the Lions. Depth is never a bad thing, and Wheat wasn't bad in a reserve role for the Lions, but again, how many edge rushers can Dallas realistically carry?
What Wheat does have going for him is that he played a lot in special teams last season, so Dallas could very well find room for him there. Is that going to be enough to keep him in a crowded edge-rusher room, though? I doubt it, especially when they can simply rely on others to perform on special teams.
QB Joe Milton III
Why not throw a wrinkle into the equation? It's easy to assume that the Cowboys are going to have Miller, an edge rusher, replace someone at that position. While that's surely the likely outcome, the Cowboys could very well decide that they'd like to hold onto an extra edge rusher and instead cut their roster elsewhere. If that were to happen, there's a good chance that a guy like Joe Milton III could be on the chopping block.
This answer could very well flip to Sam Howell if Milton were to out-duel him in the team's backup quarterback battle, but while Milton played well in Saturday's preseason opener, so did Howell, and Howell, the more experienced option of the two, also started the game. Are the Cowboys really going to carry three quarterbacks when the starter, Dak Prescott, is solidified, especially when, instead, they can simply carry an extra defensive player who can provide more of an impact?
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