FRISCO, Texas -- An NFL roster is like an accordion: teams can carry a maximum of 90 players at the start of training camp before whittling their active roster to 53 to kick off the season.

That means plenty of players who showed some promise are let go every offseason. In the case of the 2026 Dallas Cowboys, a few notable faces were shown the door on roster cutdown day, including quarterback Joe Milton, running backs Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, and edge rusher Sam Williams. 

"I'm just going to start with this really emotional last 48 hours or so. The human element is real. The conversations are real. We're trying to build a roster that can handle the strain of 17 regular-season games, the grind of the playoffs into the Super Bowl," head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Monday. ... "So really do love those guys and tough couple of days."

Let's take a look at why Milton, Blue, Mafah and Williams were shown the door in Dallas and whether a return via the practice squad remains in the cards for each. 

QB Joe Milton

Joe Milton has one of the most high-powered arms Schottenheimer has seen in his 27 seasons in the NFL coaching ranks. At training camp last year, Dallas' head coach compared Milton's rocket-launcher right arm strength to that of Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre, whom he coached as the New York Jets' offensive coordinator in 2008. However, Schottenheimer also had reservations about Milton's game, particularly his accuracy and touch.

This preseason, Milton showed significant strides in both areas when the lights came on in Dallas' three exhibition games: he completed 29 of his 43 passes (67.4%) for 378 yards, 3 passing touchdowns and no interceptions for a 118.2 passer rating. His ability to process the game was something the Cowboys' head coach indicated is still a work in progress. 

"I'm going to say that the upside, I'm not going to say you put him into a box of what he could be, but the arm talent's real. I think we've talked a lot in here about the touch and how he's developed the touch," Schottenheimer said on Tuesday. "I do know that he did a much better job with our system. This is what guys that come from that spread system [in college] have to deal with in terms of the learning curve of coming in and having to learn how to huddle, call a play in the huddle and make different decisions. ... I think about that. ... So again, I think Joe's going to be a terrific player in this league. I'm not going to say in what regard, but like I said, it was a very tough decision."

When it came time for the Cowboys to decide on their backup quarterback spot between Milton and veteran Sam Howell, who has 18 career starts, 17 of them with the Washington Commanders in 2023, they chose Howell. Howell finished the preseason finale strong, completing 12 of his 18 throws against the New Orleans Saints for 155 yards and 2 passing touchdowns. However, the separator between the two was Howell's edge in processing: his understanding of the underlying details of a given play and the speed at which he could go through his route progressions. 

"We were debating it. ... It was back and forth. Sam is a guy that just at the end of the day, he's got a great feel for what we're trying to do. The way he played against New Orleans really was good, and he bounced back," Schottenheimer said. ... "Making this decision now was in the best interest of our football team, giving us clarity. Sam has done an awesome job of learning the system. Both Dak and Joe were ahead of him when he got here because they were here last year, but his understanding and grasp of the playbook is really, really good. He's got great field vision. That's one of the best things that jumps off the film is he understands where everybody is and how it affects spacing and things like that. That's why he's able to play pretty quick through progressions."

Should Milton go unclaimed, the door remains open in Dallas for Milton to return to the Cowboys on the practice squad. 

"To have Joe Milton back would be incredible," Schottenheimer said. "We'll see what happens with the claims and then see what he wants to do. I think we've shown that we know how to develop him. I think him being in this system for another year would be amazing, but I also know that he should have choices. So we'll see what happens. But in terms of wanting him back, absolutely."

RBs Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah

When Dallas selected Jaydon Blue in the fifth round (149th overall) out of Texas and Phil Mafah in the seventh round (239th overall) out of Clemson in the 2025 NFL Draft, the thought was that the Cowboys could perhaps have found a nice thunder and lightning running back combination late in the draft. Blue compared his burst and ability to make people miss to Detroit Lions three-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs on draft day. 

Now, both are gone for reasons that fall under the umbrella of "consistency" that Schottenheimer stresses his players possess. Both ended up being outworked in training camp and the preseason by undrafted veteran Malik Davis, with Davis showcasing his value not only as a runner but also on special teams. Last season, Davis spent some time as the punt protector while also being a factor in other phases of special teams. 

Both Blue and Mafah failed to carve out roles for themselves on special teams for varying reasons. Mafah missed most of the 2025 season with a shoulder injury, and he failed to break through in that area this preseason. Schottenheimer and the Cowboys' front office essentially decided that Davis and another, more mature, veteran running back would provide better depth behind bell-cow Javonte Williams than the youngsters they drafted last year. 

"When you talk about competing every day and adding value and raising the level of competition, both those guys were drafted because we love those guys. I think this is more a testament to a guy like Malik Davis that has just time in and time out come back and proven his worth and the way he's wired," Schottenheimer said on Monday. "I know both Jaydon and Phil should and will reach out to Malik because now they're in an unfortunate situation like that. But if you want to learn from a veteran, Malik Davis would be the first call that I would make because the guy went from being on the street and not getting really hardly any looks, even workouts. ... Now, he's solidified himself as a very, very valuable member of our football team."

Another quality Schottenheimer loves about Davis is his ball security. The 27-year-old has totaled 411 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns on 90 career carries without a fumble. Dallas gave Blue a four-game audition to factor into their ground game in 2025 from Weeks 5-8 last year, but when the then-rookie fumbled the football in a 44-24 loss at the Denver Broncos in Week 8, Schottenheimer had enough. Blue remained inactive from Week 9 until Week 18 when the Cowboys were already eliminated from playoff contention. One fumble from 2025 likely didn't make the difference between Blue making and missing the Cowboys' 53-man roster in 2026, but the team's overall feeling that Blue didn't outwork Davis did him in. It's also worth wondering whether the Louis Vuitton Nike cleats Blue wore during a practice last October, which gave him a blister, were something in the back of Schottenheimer's mind. 

"It's not that Jaydon didn't do anything. It's that Malik Davis did things," Schottenheimer said. ... "But it's more about these other guys doing certain things that we felt like they were deserving a spot on this roster. So again, I really wish Jaydon nothing but the best. He's a talented, talented young man, and I'm sure he's going to land on his feet and have an awesome, awesome career."

Dallas also decided that having two backs with more seasoning on them in Davis and the newly acquired Emari Demercado, a veteran they claimed on cutdown day, was the move with the Cowboys being in win-now mode in 2026. Demercado also played his first two NFL seasons with current Dallas offensive coordinator Klayton Adams on the Arizona Cardinals. Adams worked as Arizona's offensive line coach in that time (2023-2024) before joining Schottenheimer's Cowboys staff as the OC in 2025, and in that time, Demercado built a reputation for being willing to do the dirty work, particularly in pass protection. 

"Emari is a guy that Klayton [Adams] has some exposure to. Good veteran, plays special teams and there's a lot of things that we like about him," Schottenheimer said.  "So we're excited that we're awarded him in the claiming system."

It's also glaring that Schottenheimer couldn't commit to immediately offering Blue or Mafah a spot on the Cowboys' practice squad should either be let go and go unclaimed. 

"We said to both those guys that we weren't sure, that we were not sure that it would go that direction," Schottenheimer said. "And that's as honest as I could be with them."

Blue already found a new home by Tuesday, joining the archrival Philadelphia Eagles on their practice squad.

DE Sam Williams

The Dallas Cowboys selected edge rusher Sam Williams early in the 2022 NFL Draft with the 56th overall pick in the second round that year. He never rose above being a rotational defensive lineman over his four seasons, with a torn ACL in training camp cutting short his 2024 campaign. Williams racked up 9.5 sacks, 20 quarterback hits, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovered and 85 tackles across the 2022, 2023 and 2025 seasons, which was good enough for Dallas to re-sign him to a one-year, $2.5 million contract this offseason with $2 million of it guaranteed. 

Despite that investment, the Cowboys ended up being OK with lighting that $2 million on fire by releasing him on cutdown day. The reason was that Dallas' edge rusher depth became too deep for Williams to find footing in the position room after the offseason acquisitions of Pro Bowler Rashan Gary, first-round pick Malachi Lawrence and future Hall of Famer Von Miller. The Cowboys also have 2025 second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku back in the room as well. 

"One of the tougher decisions, man, was Sam. I've been around Sam for a long time. When I came here, I think as a consultant [in 2022] was his first year," Schottenheimer said. "The room got crowded. ... At the end of the day, it was the numbers. So there's nothing that Sam didn't do. ... I had Sam break it down after the [final preseason] game the other day. I thought he played awesome against New Orleans. ... Sam Williams' career is long from over. He's going to go somewhere and play at a very high level. I'm excited to see him continue to grow as a man. He's a great father. That's one of the things that I love about him, and that was an emotional one."

Williams quickly landed on his feet as the Cleveland Browns signed him to their active roster on Tuesday. 

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