Stephen McGee's was on the hot seat. He was on the bubble. But after a strong showing going 27 of 42 for 304 yards, a touchdown and (most important) no interceptions, McGee is going to force the Cowboys into making some tough choices.
Drafted in the fourth round in 2009, McGee is an athletic quarterback with a strong arm. He has all the physical tools to be an NFL quarterback, and the Cowboys hoped they'd found Romo's backup for years to come in the latter rounds of the draft. But a preseason of indecision and happy feet had the Cowboys staff doubting, so a solid outing on Thursday night came at the right time to possibly save his spot.
But the biggest decision for the Cowboys may be with their receivers. Miles Austin, Roy Williams and Dez Bryant sit at the top of the depth chart, which means the Cowboys will have to make a decision on Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd and Kevin Ogletree.
The Cowboys could keep all of them, of course. It's not uncommon for them to keep six receivers on the 53-man roster. And each of the three are solid performers on special teams, though Dez Bryant may take away some of Crayton's punt return duties.
For Crayton and Hurd, the issue has more to do with salary than ability. Crayton has been a solid third receiver, but he's now fourth on the depth chart, which makes him more of an insurance policy. Hurd is a great special teams player and showed his receiving ability with a nice touchdown grab in Thursday's game, but he comes with a $1.8 million price tag. And while Ogletree showed promise last year, he's drawn ire from the coaching staff this year. And he didn't do himself any favors Thursday night after grabbing a pass with seconds left in the half and no timeouts and proceeding towards the middle of the field rather than going out of bounds.
On the outside of the bubble, Manuel Johnson made a bid for the 53-man roster should the Cowboys decide to let one of the top six loose. Behind Jesse Holley on the depth chart throughout the preseason, he flashed his playmaking ability on a nice snag and run setting up the game winning field goal against Miami.
But Johnson and Holley aren't just competing against the other receivers for a spot. They'll also need to contend with a defense overloaded on talent and Dallas's decision on Stephen McGee. If the Cowboys do make a move with one of their receivers, they may just keep five on the 53-man roster.
In the defensive backfield, the Cowboys might be sold on Cletis Gordon as the fourth cornerback behind Newman, Jenkins and Scandrick, but SMU's Bryan McCann is making a strong case for them to keep five. He's got speed and flashes some playmaking ability, but most important for a player on the bubble, he's a great special teams player. And at safety, Mike Hamlin may have secured his spot with a great play on the ball knocking away a potential touchdown pass, but let's not count out Barry Church, who's made a great impression on the coaching staff. And this is assuming Danny McCray has already secured his spot on the 53.
And linebacker is another position where the Cowboys have more talent than spots. Steve Octavien, Brandon Williams and Leon Williams are competing for what probably will be a single spot on the 53-man roster. Leon Williams might be left out here simply for being the oldest of the three -- all things being even, the youngest player will get the nod. Brandon Williams made a nice interception in the Hall of Fame game and has a lot of potential, so he might have the slight lead in this race.
NFL teams have until 6PM EST time on Saturday to get down the 53 players. And with Jerry Jones saying that Crayton and Hurd's spots on the roster were "sensitive" issues, you can bet the Cowboys will be on the phone to other teams looking for possible takers.
Best Plays in Cowboys History | Dallas Cowboys on the iPhone | Follow the Dallas Cowboys on Twitter
Comments