Safety first. The Cowboys competition in the deep defensive backfield is one of the hottest position battles on the roster.
Donovan Wilson
When Dan Quinn arrived for the 2021 season, Wilson instantly became a better player. Quinn’s defensive scheme featuring three safeties on the field played to all of Wilson’s strengths. He is a player who likes to play near the line of scrimmage. He’s excellent at run support, and is adept at pass rushing, evidenced by his 8.5 career sacks.
Wilson is not so great in coverage, though. How his traits fit into Mike Zimmer’s scheme is yet to be seen. He should be a lock for this roster, but even if he isn’t, I wouldn’t expect him to be released. The Cowboys will keep him on the roster or attempt to trade him, since releasing him would result in a dead cap hit over $10 million.
Malik Hooker
Malik Hooker might actually be the safest bet to make the roster because of his skills in coverage. Dallas doesn’t really have anyone else that has proven to be on his level as a single-high safety. Hooker, a former 1st round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, has something that none of the other safeties have: blue chip draft status. The rest of the safeties on the roster weren’t drafted in the top five rounds, and most were undrafted.
The Ohio State product has had a solid three years in Dallas after arriving with Quinn in 2021. Hooker hasn’t been spectacular, but he has been the best free safety to start for Dallas in several years. In his three seasons, he has recorded 156 tackles, eight passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and five interceptions. I fully expect him to make the roster and remain the starting free safety.
Lots of highlight-worthy moments from the wide receivers at Saturday’s practice.
(…) a few wide receivers have enjoyed strong camp outings this summer. While [Jalen] Tolbert and Jalen Brooks have stepped their game up in Oxnard, another receiver has proven to be a name to watch as camp rolls on.
Looking to stick on the Cowboys’ roster, Tyron Billy-Johnson is embracing newfound stability in Dallas.
“He’s having a great camp, he really is,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said.
“Yeah, I mean the guy loves the game, first and foremost, and he loves his teammates,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “You talk about a guy that has energy, natural energy, natural excitement, joy, and it jumps out and it’s contagious. It can start with a guy like that.”
Mike McCarthy said Israel Mukuamu will miss some time with an undisclosed injury. Luke Schoonmaker will miss practice today and could return Monday. Eric Kendricks (back) also will need some more time, maybe Monday.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) August 3, 2024
Some early standouts.
[…] one name has consistently come out of the mouths of the team decision makers when asked who has stood out through the first two weeks of camp: former Texas linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.
Overshown has been as advertised so far in camp with his size, athleticism, ability to fill the hole and run to the football.
“[DeMarvion] Overshown is gonna get you excited. Excited for him, excited for us,” Jones said. McCarthy also mentioned Overshown as a player that has stood out. Other players who have stood for McCarthy include tight end Noah Fant, who is being cross trained at fullback, receivers Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks, cornerbacks Daron Bland and Jourdan Lewis, as well as fullback Hunter Luepke, who is being cross trained at tight end.
Jones also mentioned receiver KaVontae Turpin and Luepke. “Really like the work that our fullback [Hunter Luepke] is doing. He’s very instrumental, and of course he’s going to be a big part of this offense and he’s earning it,” Jones said.
Parsons had quite a day.
Micah Parsons’ elbow soreness did not seem to be an issue Saturday. The linebacker did not do one-on-one pass rush drills but was a menace in team drills, working mostly on the line of scrimmage.
It was his most active practice of training camp and was similar to last year, when he wrecked a number of practices for the offense. He had at least three would-be sacks, including one where he was unblocked because of the look the defense gave the offensive line. He was in quarterback Dak Prescott’s face a lot.
Could the linebacker unit turn from a weakness to a strength?
A key to the Dallas Cowboys potentially ending their longstanding Super Bowl drought will be the quality of their linebacker play, and that’s one reason Marist Liufau got the nod as the team’s third-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he’s quickly beginning to show them why they made the right call.
As it goes for any rookie in the NFL, but especially those who play a position as cerebral as linebacker, Liufau will run into his share of hiccups and growing pains, but it’s also true that he’s off to a solid start in his first-ever Cowboys’ training camp and, in the team’s fourth-padded practice, he delivered his best day thus far.
Liufau’s elite football IQ is one of his main attractions and it’s what caused Zimmer and head coach Mike McCarthy to pound the table, so to speak, to get him on the roster during the draft and, seeing as it’s helped get him this far, it will likely also help in propelling him much further.
“It gets a little bit easier [when pads come on] because you get your reps in, you learn the playbook more and things start to slow down,” he said. “And the more I study, I begin to think faster. … I feel like I’m getting more comfortable and I’m playing faster — also building confidence.”
Zimmer likes what he see in Dallas, Cowboys fans may like what they’ll see from Zimmer in return.
“I got the same bite,” Zimmer said. “I hadn’t had to use it much. But I probably got the same bite. But now. I’m trying to be very specific about what we want and make sure they understand exactly what we want.”
“I’ve been impressed with this group, I really have. I heard all this stuff when I came here, this and that, but I just go by what I see and what I see has been good.”
Zimmer’s scheme is targeted to help the Cowboys be better against the run. But it starts with being disciplined, fundamentally sound, and doing your job. No more freelancing. And that goes for the best players, including All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons.
Zimmer has new wrinkles for Parsons and will line him [up] all over the field. He will do more disguising on defense and his blitz packages are already freaky. But the foundation remains. Discipline, fundamentals, and accountability.
“Just putting guys in a lot of different positions. And not just letting us fly around and vision break,” safety Donovan Wilson said when asked about what Zimmer brings to the defense. “It’s been a lot of like disguises and stuff. But yea Zim brings the extra juice to the whole defense and keeps guys accountable.”
It’s the only way he knows how.
The Cowboys may have hit on yet another undrafted free agent.
The offseason work that Hoffman has put in has been evident. He’s more technical. He’s stronger and better put together physically. Most importantly, he’s more communicative and more confident – two qualities that are required to man down the middle of a talented Cowboys offensive line.
“Brock’s the man,” quarterback Dak Prescott said. “It’s in his intensity. It’s in his focus, and then that allows the communication to be easier. He’s a guy that gets up there, knows his job responsibility, knows the calls and then from there, he’s gonna jump on them. And if I want to change something, he makes sure it’s echoed and communicated to the rest of the guys but there’s just no hesitation in it.”
Going into year two of Mike McCarthy’s offensive system, Hoffman’s background as a son of a college coach and the knowledge of the game that it comes with has paid off. For him, it’s about perfecting it in order to be as prepared as possible for his Pro Bowl quarterback.
“I feel like in terms of my mental speed, I feel like I’ve really grown playbook-wise,” Hoffman said. “In terms of the game, it has slowed down and in terms of being able to see safety rotations, different defensive looks, our defense has given us a different variety of looks and the center has to be ready for that for the quarterback.”
Ochoa talks to Michael Peterson from Bolts From The Blue, the Chargers SB Nation site.
BTB: On a scale of 1-10 how worried are you about Justin Herbert’s health for the start of the season?
On a scale of 1-10, I’m probably at a 5. I’m not that worried overall but any injury on this team makes me hold my breath due to all the times the team said it wasn’t a serious injury only for a player to miss half the year because the issue won’t go away.
BTB: Who are the other quarterbacks on the depth chart?
The backup quarterbacks are Easton Stick (four starts in 2023), 2023 seventh-round pick Max Duggan, and 2024 UDFA Casey Bauman. Stick played “fine” to end last season but he’s far from an efficient passer. He’s much better as a gamer who can utilize his legs to extend drives. Duggan led TCU to the 2023 CFP title game but got walloped by Georgia. He had a rough pre-draft process which led to him being a dart throw by the Chargers despite being a Heisman runner-up. He has a matching skillset to Stick in that he’s not the best passer but he can improvise and extend plays with his athleticism. Lastly, Bauman is a tall 6’7 passer who went from FCS Montana State to Division II Augustana. Injuries limited his career to a degree but he’s yet another dual-threat player. Just a camp arm, though.
BTB: Hypothetically would you (as in you, not the team) have interest in Trey Lance as a potential option for let’s say something like the first month of the season while Herbert got fully healthy if things came down to that?
I would not have any interest in making a trade for Lance as the team can make do with Stick in the meantime. If this was more of a “make-or-break” season, I’d entertain the idea more but this is year essentially a re-tooling where the Chargers should be very happy if they manage to finish with a record above .500. If they’re a 9-8 team and miss the playoffs with Herbert, going 6-11 and earning a better draft pick because Stick dropped a few games doesn’t sound too bad.
Former American tennis professionals John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, John Isner, and Sam Querrey will play in the 2026 Dallas Open All-American Classic, the tournament announced Monday.
The exhibition event will take place at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2026 ahead of the tournament’s main draw beginning on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.
“We’re thrilled to bring together four beloved American tennis stars for what promises to be an unforgettable evening of entertainment,” said Dallas Open tournament director Peter Lebedevs in a news release.
McEnroe, 66, is a former world No. 1 in both doubles and singles and the only men’s player to ever hold both simultaneously. He has won multiple major titles in both with 7 singles majors, 9 doubles majors and one mixed doubles major.
Roddick, 43, is a former world No. 1 who won his only career major at the 2003 U.S. Open. He played in four other major finals (one at the U.S. Open and three at Wimbledon) losing them all to his rival Roger Federer.
“The Dallas Open has quickly become one of the premier events on the ATP Calendar,” Roddick said. ”I’m honored to play alongside these guys and be part of the night. We all know how to compete and have fun on the court, which is what this night is all about.”
Isner, 40, is a Dallas resident and former top-10 singles player with 16 career ATP titles. He was known for his powerful serve, which averaged about 140 mph, but which went over 155 mph on occasion. He’s also played in the longest tennis match of all time, winning over five sets and 183 games against Nicolas Mahut that took 11 hours and five minutes across three days at Wimbledon in 2010.
Querrey, 38, peaked at No. 11 in the men’s singles rankings, winning 10 career titles and having a career-best majors finish at the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2017.
Tennis fans will also recognize the quartet from their contributions in the media after retirement. McEnroe is a prominent tennis commentator for ESPN at major tournaments. Roddick hosts the “Served” podcast while Isner and Querrey are part of the “Nothing Major Show.”
Tickets for the exhibition are available with prices around $100.
The ATP-500 level Dallas Open tournament is set to feature top-ranked Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton as well as top-level Europeans in Casper Ruud and Grigor Dimitrov. It will take place from Feb. 7 to Feb. 15, 2026 in Frisco.
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The Dallas Wings once again have the first overall pick after winning the 2026 Draft Lottery on Sunday evening. The 2026 WNBA Draft isn’t scheduled until Monday, April 13th, so there is a lot of time for the Wings to evaluate the draft class, but also explore other options for the pick.
Could the Dallas Wings explore trading the first overall pick? It’s certainly not out of the question, and Wings GM Curt Miller is at least open to the idea.
Drake Keeler of IX Sports reported that Wings GM Curt Miller said he he “already received more calls about potential trades for the #1 pick in the upcoming draft than he did in the lead-up to the 2025 draft.” But a lot of that is due to the talent available at the top of the draft.
“The Cailtin Clark draft, there was not going to be a trade, Paige [Bueckers] was not going to be traded, but it will be interesting, and it makes our job fun to listen to those phone calls that come in for the #1 pick. And we’ll do what’s best for our franchise.” Miller said.
Miller is saying that every team knew that they wouldn’t have traded the Paige Bueckers pick last year, and the Indiana Fever wouldn’t have traded the Caitlin Clark pick. Those were generational superstars from the moment they entered college, and the star power and popularity alone would’ve made it hard to trade those picks. The Indiana Fever are the most popular team in the WNBA because of Clark, and no team saw more social media growth this year than the Wings because of Bueckers.
Curt Miller said he’s already received more calls about potential trades for the #1 pick in the upcoming draft than he did in the leadup to the 2025 draft.
— Drake (@DrakeKeeler) November 24, 2025
READ MORE: Dallas Wings win WNBA Draft lottery, will pick No. 1 for second straight year
As of now, there is no player that is a lock to go first overall, but there are plenty of players who could be considered, including Lauren Betts, Awa Fam, Azzi Fudd, Ta’Niya Latson, and Olivia Miles. If it stays like that all year, and unless the Wings fall in love with a particular player, trading down a few spots may be a great opportunity to gain future draft capital.
If they enter the draft saying “We’d be happy with any of these three players,” they should trade back to the third pick, if the opportunity presents itself and the capital makes sense.
They could also use the pick to trade for a readymade star. A lot of players around the WNBA are entering free agency this offseason, which Miller says having Bueckers and the first pick will be a huge draw in free agency, but the Wings can also be aggressive in trades because of the pick.
READ MORE: Paige Bueckers praised by Cooper Flagg after support at recent Mavericks games
Stick with WingsGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Wings throughout the offseason.
We’ve got a good old-fashioned NFC East rivalry matchup in store for “America’s Game of the Week” on Sunday.
The Eagles (8-2) and the Cowboys (4-5-1) meet up in Texas for the latest installment of one of the NFL’s top rivalries. Philadelphia won the first game between these two teams to open the season back in September, taking down Dallas in a game that was much closer than many expected.
However, the Eagles have largely looked the part of a defending Super Bowl champion since that game. They enter Sunday’s tilt as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Cowboys, however, have had a bumpy year. They have a tough hill to climb to make the postseason, but it seems possible with newcomer Quinnen Williams leading an improved defensive unit.
Will Philly maintain control of the NFC, or can Dallas start a winning streak and make a playoff push?
Follow along for Sunday’s highlights!
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Live Coverage for this began on 3:47p ET
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