Roster cuts can be brutal, and it looks like they are especially brutal for players who played on the NFL’s worst defense last year.
Nick Harris of the Star-Telegram did a quick check on the Cowboys defense, and found that 17 of the 26 defenders on the 2025 Week 1 roster are unemployed after yesterday’s final roster cuts.
Harris corrected the number to 15, explaining that two of those 17 players were actually on IR. Here’s a look at the 2025 Week 1 roster for the defense, with the red cells indicating players that do not have a job right now, and the yellow cells marking players on IR:
| 2025 Week 1 roster – Base 4-3 D | |||
| POS | Starter | 2nd | 3rd |
| LDE | Sam Williams | Donovan Ezeiruaku | |
| NT | Kenny Clark | Mazi Smith | Jay Toia |
| DT | Osa Odighizuwa | Solomon Thomas | Perrion Winfrey |
| RDE | Dante Fowler | Marshawn Kneeland (RIP) | James Houston |
| WLB | Jack Sanborn | Shemar James | |
| MLB | Kenneth Murray | Marist Liufau (IR) | |
| SLB | Damone Clark (IR) | Buddy Johnson | |
| SS | Malik Hooker | Markquese Bell | |
| FS | Donovan Wilson | Juanyeh Thomas | |
| RCB | Kaiir Elam | C.J. Godwin (retired) | Trikweze Bridges |
| LCB | DaRon Bland | Trevon Diggs | Reddy Steward |
| IR/PUP | DeMarvion Overshown, Shavon Revel Jr., Caelen Carson | ||
Of the 27 players on the opening-day roster against the Eagles in 2025, 15 are currently without a team, even if that may not last more than a few hours in some cases.
Rosters in the NFL churn about 30% each year, so some degree of change can be expected from year-to-year, especially among backups and down-roster players. But five of last year’s starters are also without a team right now, which seems pretty high, but is probably indicative of the quality of those former starters.
Jerry Jones opened the press conference following Day 2 of the draft by pointing out the changes made to the defense.
“We have been able to, as of right now, rebuild this defense. I think the fact that we put a new newness to the system and coaching staff, and new faces that we’ve added, we’ve changed this defense.”
Jones also pointed out that the changes made were not just a reaction to last year, but a “product of 3, 4, 5 years, maybe more, where we ultimately didn’t get to where we were trying to go and be a contender.”
If you look closely at the table above, you’ll also notice that the 2026 Cowboys are only returning seven defensive players from last year’s week one roster (plus Marist Liufau on IR). Eight out of 27. That’s a roster churn of 70%.
A change of this magnitude is not just unusual, it’s unprecedented for a team like the Cowboys that likes to keep things comfortable and is generally averse to change.
But judging by how last year’s players fared with other teams around the league, those changes were absolutely necessary.
