Cutdown day was always going to be a tough one for the Dallas Cowboys when it came to the wide receiver position.
But the Jonathan Mingo injury opened up the possibility of Dallas keeping some younger receivers to round out the roster. However, it appears the Cowboys will go light at receiver this year, keeping only five at the position.
That means that there isn’t room for someone like Traeshon Holden, a standout undrafted free agent from Oregon. Despite a strong training camp and preseason, he has officially been waived ahead of the Tuesday afternoon deadline, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Cowboys cutting WR Traeshon Holden hurts, but it isn't a surprise
The top four receivers for the Cowboys are set in stone with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens entrenched as the starters and KaVontae Turpin and Jalen Tolbert splitting the No. 3 job. The battle for the final roster spot has come down to Ryan Flournoy and Jalen Brooks, both of whom have special teams experience.
You can make a strong case that Holden is the better pure receiver and has more upside on offense than either Flournoy or Brooks.
However, the job of the No. 5 receiver on the roster really isn’t to help out on offense. It’s to contribute on special teams and occasionally fill in on offense should an injury happen. And because Holden doesn’t have special teams experience, and he didn’t do it in the preseason, we shouldn’t be surprised that the team released him.
Holden seems like a prime candidate to end up on the practice squad for the Cowboys, and that would be a good thing for his development. He needs some time to learn all three receiver positions and he would greatly benefit from finding a role on special teams. It's clear that he is talented, and we saw that play out in the preseason, but there might be more opportunity next year with Pickens and Tolbert set to become free agents.
There is a chance that Holden could be claimed on waivers, but again, that seems unlikely given that he was undrafted and because of his lack of special teams prowess.
Instead, look for him to be back on the practice squad in no time and for the Cowboys to continue to develop the big-bodied receiver.
More Cowboys News and Analysis