We are about to find out if the Cowboys are ready for the regular season, which starts Sunday.
But they are certainly ready to make Miles Austin their wide receiver of the future. The Cowboys have signed Miles Austin to a six-year contract extension. Before today, Austin had just one year remaining before he became an unrestricted free agent.
But thats not going to happen for Austin, who now has a new seven-year deal, worth reportedly $54 million.
Despite just his 12 starts last year, team owner Jerry Jones, who announced the deal Thursday, along with Stephen Jones, said he's never been as prepared to sign a player to a long-term deal, as he was with Austin, despite the inexperience.
While Austin was certainly excited about the extension, he seemed more relieved to get the deal completed.
"This is great for me, but the most important thing is to get ready for the Redskins," Austin said. "That's still the No.1 goal for me and this team. We want to win as many games as possible."
It wasn't a win, but Austin certainly got his first big score of the season.
Now that the 53-man roster seems to be set – for now – the Cowboys can focus on shaping up their entire team, which includes the eight-man practice squad.
The Cowboys either signed or agreed to terms with eight players, including six who were among the 20 released players on Saturday.
Jesse Holley (WR)
Manny Johnson (WR)
Travis Bright (G)
Martin Rucker (TE)
Lonyae Miller (RB)
Teddy Williams (CB)
Cliff Louis (OT)
Scott Chandler (TE)
Jesse Holley and Manny Johnson are returning to the practice squad after spending the entire 2009 season on the practice squad.
Another repeat from last year is guard Travis Bright. The Cowboys also signed tight end Martin Rucker, running back Lonyae Miller, and cornerback Teddy Williams, who is currently the fourth corner on the squad, along with Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins, and Orlando Scandrick.
The Cowboys also signed two other players in offensive tackle Cliff Louis and tight end Scott Chandler, who was with most of the team last year before being signed away to the Giants last year. Louis was recently cut by the Lions.
One of the players that the Cowboys also wanted to bring back to the practice squad was cornerback Bryan McCann, who was claimed off waivers by the Ravens. Other waived players who would up with other clubs were CB Jamar Wall (Houston, DE Marcus Dixon (NY Jets) and DT Junior Siavii (Seattle).
The Cowboys are close to finalizing their eight-man practice squad, likely bringing back as many as six Saturday cuts, including recievers Jesse Holley and Manuel Johnson.
Here is a closer look at the Cowboys 53-man roster as they begin preparing in earnest for the Sept.12 regular-season opener:
Quaterback (3)
Tony Romo
John Kitna
Stephen McGee
Summary: Romo and Kitna are entrenched as Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Stephen McGee's 304-yard, one-touchdown preseason finale performance ended questions about his roster security.
Running Back (5)
Marion Barber
Felix Jones
Tashard Choice
Chris Gronkowski
Deon Anderson
Summary: The Cowboys elected to keep two fullbacks, Gronkowski and the fourth-year veteran Anderson, rather than a third tight end.
Wide Receiver (5)
Miles Austin
Roy Williams
Dez Bryant
Kevin Ogletree
Sam Hurd
Summary: Ogletree slides up a spot on the depth chart following Crayton's departure. The Cowboys also kept Hurd, who signed a $1.759 million restricted tender in the offseason, despite trade rumors during the week.
Tight End (2)
Jason Witten
Martellus Bennett
Summary: The Cowboys did not elect to keep a third true tight end after Phillips' season-ending knee injury, but they're likely to keep as many as two on the practice squad for depth.
Offensive Line (10)
Doug Free
Kyle Kosier
Andre Gurode
Leonard Davis
Marc Colombo
Alex Barron
Montrae Holland
Phil Costa
Robert Brewster
Sam Young
Summary: The Cowboys went heavy with 10 linemen, due in part to the Colombo and Kosier injuries. Colombo (knee scope) is expected to practice this week, but Kosier (sprained MCL) - the starting left guard and primary backup center - could miss up to three games.
Defensive Line (7)
Marcus Spears
Jay Ratliff
Igor Olshansky
Stephen Bowen
Jason Hatcher
Josh Brent
Sean Lissemore
Summary: Another heavy position. Five of six rotation players from 2009 are back: Spears, Ratliff, Olshansky, Bowen and Hatcher. Seventh-rounders Brent and Lissemore beat out the sixth rotation guy, Junior Siavii, who signed with the Seahawks on Sunday.
Linebacker (9)
DeMarcus Ware
Keith Brooking
Bradie James
Anthony Spencer
Victor Butler
Brandon Williams
Sean Lee
Jason Williams
Leon Williams
Summary: Heavy again, particularly the five inside linebackers: starters Brooking and James; second-rounder Sean Lee; and veteran backups Leon and Jason Williams.
Cornerback (3)
Terence Newman
Mike Jenkins
Orlando Scandrick
Summary: The Cowboys had to go light somewhere, and this is it. The fourth cornerback competition was heated through training camp, but ultimately only the top three made it.
Safety (6)
Gerald Sensabaugh
Alan Ball
Mike Hamlin
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah
Danny McCray
Barry Church
Summary: Sensabaugh (shoulder subluxation), the starting strong safety, has a good chance to be ready for the opener. The Gordon and McCann cuts made room for two undrafted safeties, McCray and Church.
Specialist (3)
David Buehler
Mat McBriar
L.P Ladouceur
Summary: Buehler's excellent preseason (10-for-11 field goals, including 4-for-4 and the winning kick last Thursday) earned him full-time kicking duties.
Today was the deadline for the Cowboys roster cut. Excluding Patrick Crayton, and Pat McQuistan, 20 other players were cut Saturday afternoon. The Dallas Cowboys roster has now been slimmed down to 53 players. These are the 20 players that were realeased by the Cowboys on Saturday:
OT Will Barker
OG Travis Bright
DE Marcus Dixon
RB Herb Donaldson
TE DajLeon Farr
CB Cletis Gordon
WR Jesse Holley
WR Manny Johnson
OLB Curtis Johnson
CB Bryan McCann
RB Lonyae Miller
LB Steve Octavien
TE Jason Pociask
TE Martin Rucker
DT Jimmy Saddler-MqQueen
LB Brandon Sharpe
DE Junior Siavii
OL Mark Tepper
CB Jamar Wall
CB Teddy Williams
The released players have 24 hours to be claimed by another club before teams can sign the players that are eligible to the eight-man practice squad.
The Cowboys decided to keep just two tight ends on the current roster, Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett.
After playing against the Dallas Cowboys with his new team, the Cincinnati Bengals, reporters are saying that Terrell Owens made this comment about the rumors:
"You have to take the bitter with the sweet, and you move on," "Do I think I should probably be there? Yeah.
"It was short-lived. I was prematurely let go. Things like that happen."
The Dallas Cowboys released Owens after the 2008 season with rumors of Owens squabbing Dallas QB Tony Romo. Owens also made this comment:
"There's no turning back or going back or redoing anything." "Again, I still stand by the things that I said and what was done. I know that honestly it wasn't my fault."
The Cowboys are close to finalizing their eight-man practice squad, likely bringing back as many as six Saturday cuts, including recievers Jesse Holley and Manuel Johnson.