As all 32 teams in the NFL begin whittling down their respective rosters ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s deadline, the Dallas Cowboys have made their first handful of moves.
On Tuesday morning, the Cowboys placed wide receiver Jonathan Mingo (knee) and defensive end Payton Turner (ribs) on the injured reserve/designated to return list. The designation allows them to move directly to the IR without counting toward the 53-man roster that will be required to send into the NFL by 3 p.m. CDT Tuesday. It also requires each player to miss at least four games to begin the year.
Mingo suffered a sprained PCL in his right knee in the second preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens after coming down with a 49-yard reception. He missed the final week of the preseason and will now have ample time to heal before being able to return in week five, at the earliest.
Turner suffered broken ribs in the first preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams and played through the injury for the majority of the last two weeks, albeit missing a couple of practices to nurse the issue. He will now be sidelined to fully heal, allowing a spot to open up on the defensive line for a room that is overflowing with roster-worthy talent.
Since only two injured reserve designations are allowed without counting on the 53-man roster, the Cowboys will have to put running back Phil Mafah (shoulder) and cornerback Caelen Carson (knee) on the initial roster for at least 24 hours before moving them to the injured reserve. Both are expected to miss time to begin the season.
Expect the Cowboys to cut quarterback Will Grier and special teams ace C.J. Goodwin initially before exchanging their places with Mafah and Carson on Wednesday afternoon. Since Grier and Goodwin are veterans with more than four accrued seasons in the NFL, they will not be subject to waivers where any team can claim them.
This move follows a series of initial cuts that were made Monday by the team. The Cowboys cut ties with eight players to begin the week — offensive tackle La’el Collins, offensive guard Nick Broeker, defensive tackle Denzel Daxon, wide receiver Josh Kelly, tight end Tyler Neville, cornerback Troy Pride, tight end John Stephens Jr. and cornerback Christian Matthew.
On Tuesday morning, the Cowboys also waived rookie undrafted signees wide receiver Traeshon Holden and tight end Rivaldo Fairweather. The team has 26 more cuts to make to meet the 53-man roster requirement.