The work will not be done by Tuesday. Although many people call it the final 53-man roster, in reality it is the initial 53-man roster. Teams have to be down to 53 players by 3:00 p.m. central time on Tuesday afternoon, but that’s hardly the final version of the regular-season roster. It’s the first of many and fans should be prepared for their team to make a handful of adjustments as they scour the wires for transactions made by other teams.
The Dallas Cowboys will still have needs they don’t feel completely competent they’ve addressed, or might see an opportunity to upgrade a position. So as they waive players with less than four years experience, allowing their contracts to be claimed by another team, or outright release vested veterans, they’ll be watching.
And then there will be a dance. A guy cut from another team could be of interest, causing Dallas to move on from someone who less than 24 hours prior was excited about making the team. Trades can happen. Players can make the roster, be moved to injured reserve, and a released player could be right back to Dallas. Here is our roster move tracker to keep up with everything.
Compare it to our final, initial 53-man roster projection to see how well we did.