Cowboys 53-Man Roster: Fish Predicts (With Trade!) Ahead Of Cutdown Day
Mike Fisher projects the final depth chart as Dallas navigates a looming deadline, weighing veteran cuts against potential trade block blockbusters to reshape the 2026 roster.
Video Transcript
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Thank goodness it's Fish, and Friday, and football, and thanks goodness it's the end of the preseason.
After the Cowboys get it done tonight at home, AT&T Stadium, preseason game number three, the hated Saints are in town.
Let's not have any f- fights, fisticuffs, or folderol, shall we?
Let's do have some winners.
Uncle Fish Bucks are flying out of the prize closet, thanks to Sugar and to Broken Halo.
We've got one, two, three, four, five big money winners tonight, Uncle Fish Bucks money winners, and all you had to do was support our efforts to cover the NFL, and college football, and all the rest.
That's all you gotta do around here is just be part of the team, and 80,000 Fish Heads in Cowboy Nation are indeed part of the team.
We'll get to those money winners in a moment, gift certificates to the Uncle Fish store.
Big money.
That's gonna change your g- wardrobe, change your pocketbook.
But first, some Cowboys last-minute status changes.
I got 10 of them.
These are 10 names, of guys that a month ago, maybe even a week ago, we were going, "Yeah, yeah," or, "No, no," and now things have changed a little bit.
And tonight matters to this collection of 10 guys, and more of course.
Joey DePete, we're sorry to hear about your loss, and as always, this circle of 80,000 friends, thinking about you and anybody else who's, going through a tough time.
This is a great place, to, to gather yourself and get support from, those of us who r- really are friends.
It, it's incredible what we developed here, and our thoughts are with you and your family.
Friday nights here, jobs will be won and lost.
53-man roster, cut down date is Sunday, 5:00 PM Central.
Last year at this time when the Cowboys played their final preseason game, about, about 50 guys played and about 40 guys didn't.
Something like that.
Does that sound right?
No, wait a minute, they had an earlier cut down, didn't they?
Let me put it another way.
For whatever reason, 40 guys didn't play a year ago.
Does that sound right?
Maybe I'm being too specific.
A lot of s of guys didn't play for whatever reason.
Many of those were because they were in bubble wrap, and that's gonna be the case again tonight as it be- has been for the preseason for the Dak-level guy and people around him.
So let me give you the 10 where the status has changed, but first let me give you $300 in Uncle Fish Bucks.
So the $50 winners, and we will get with you, Broken Halo will get with you, I'll get with you, and we'll hook you up.
The four $50 Uncle Fish Bucks winners are one, GHJ.
GHJ, I think I know how to get ahold of you.
Two, Vinnie Hagan.
Vinnie Hagan, constantly complaining that he never wins anything, and Sugar spins the big wheel and out he comes.
$50 Uncle Fish Bucks winner number three, Brent Blacklion.
Brent Blacklion.
Think I know how to find you too.
And $50 winner number four, Paul Gayle, who has been a Uncle Fish supporter for many a years.
Now, what about the $100 Uncle Fish Bucks?
And to get this by the way, all you have to do is be part of, supporting and working with me on building our roundtable sites.
Many of you have said, "Fish, what's that, Bob Lilly autographed jersey doing hanging around the prize closet?"
You'll find out soon enough.
I'm gonna give it to you.
$100 Uncle Fish Bucks winner is Trey Mendenhall.
Trey Mendenhall, who, is very active with us on Twitter, so good.
There's five great names.
Now, let's give you 10, I don't know if they're great, names, major status changes, and away we go.
Guy number one, Sam Williams.
Before Von Miller got here, Sam Williams was a, was a pretty good name.
Proven he can rush the passer when he's right, and he's a proven athletic force on special teams.
Last week had a sack.
He can do splash plays because of his athleticism.
But Von Miller, y- the idea of Sam Williams a month ago, pretty good.
The idea of Sam Williams now, Von Miller might've just elbowed him right in the mouth.
Guy number two, Jayden Blue.
Month ago, that, that thunder and lightning job was his to win.
Now, I- he's hanging on for dear life.
I still think that they're gonna keep four running backs including Hunter Lipke the fullback, and that Jayden Blue is one of them.
But I, and they, certainly wish that tonight he would completely justify that.
It doesn't m- he doesn't need to be ahead of Malik Davis anymore, not for the moment.
He, he just needs to make the football team, which takes us to guy number three and the status change.
Phil Moffa, as Brian C sends a, Mike Fisher gift membership out.
That's nice.
Look how nice everybody is around here.
Phil Moffa, the conversation that we had about him, driven of course by people I talk to inside that building, that while Jaden Blue was the guy to be the lightning to Javonte's thunder.
Phil Moffa could be the backup thunder.
Well, what's happened?
In- d- injury thing to some degree, but the other thing that's happened to Phil Moffa is Malik Davis is demonstrating, guys, you, you don't have to have him, him be a half a player at that s- in that role, and him be a half a player in that role.
I'll take all the backup roles.
So Phil Moffa, in a 53-man roster squeeze, no doubt.
Guy number four.
Again, a month ago, Nate Thomas was in a competition to be a start- the starting left tackle here.
And now, he's about this far ahead of Drew Shelton, who doesn't deserve a job.
If you go through the Cowboys offensive line group, you can come up with the first five easily, you can come up with number six, TJ Bass, easily, and I say Cornelius is number seven.
And then it is a gigantic mishmash after that.
And Nate Thomas has not be- become what they thought he was gonna be a month ago, and Drew Shelton, at this point in his career, can't play.
Spiral, $10 pitch in the super chat, "Mr. Mac, is the NFL considering realignment for divisions?"
Not that I know of.
Move Dallas to the AFC South?
Yeah, Jerry Jones has some authority in this league, and so do all the other owners.
There's nobody, nobody in the NFC East that wants anything to change.
The, the Cowboys wanna be in the NFC East for all, for all the reasons you can imagine, includ- from tradition to money.
So I don't know if you're pulling my leg or not, but I would not hold my breath to see the Cowboys move to the AFC South.
Item five.
Guy number five, Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Remember the beginning of When, when he first got here and we had OTAs and stuff?
He's doing stuff on s- he's, he's large.
Large man.
Veteran.
He's doing stuff on special teams, and he can run.
I wonder if he's gonna play tonight.
Because keeping him in mothballs when it seems to me he's way behind Camden Brown and way behind Jonathan Mingo, which means he's the seventh receiver at best, and not getting a chance to go on the field and prove that he's better than that?
He seems gone, doesn't he?
Speaking of wide receivers, number six, Anthony Smith.
He runs like a track guy.
That's why he's here.
He needs a big game tonight to be in this conversation.
I think he'll get an o- opportunities to do that.
But again, he could have a big game, and then you're going, "But he's not He hasn't done more than Camden Brown, and he hasn't done more than Jonathan Mingo."
Jangly, "Fish, if Dallas moved to the AFC South, they'd win the division every year."
Yeah, I, I, I, I, do not hold your breath.
Guy number seven tonight, Jay Tolliver.
The Cowboys love their interior defensive line talent and depth.
Kenny Clark and Quinnen, but then also Otito and the rookie Overton and Johnathan Bullard.
But Bullard's dinged up and Tolliver just had a good game last week.
How many interior defensive lineman am I keeping?
Again, Quinnen, Kenny, Otito, Bullard, Overton.
I'm keeping a sixth?
I don't think so.
And I, I don't think Johnathan Bullard's injury is serious.
So Jay Tolliver, a guy that wasn't on my map a month ago, will get a chance tonight to change Cowboys' minds.
Guy number eight, Kaelyn Carson.
Seatbelt.
Pre-season opener, did not play well against the Seahawks.
Was a little bit better against the Cardinals.
I thought, at the beginning of training camp, I thought he was the fourth cornerback, and I'd, I, I, thought he, I thought he would run away with it.
Kenneth Easley, "Anthony Smith could be what we wanted Lance Dunbar to be."
Well, different positions and stuff, but he can run.
So Kaelyn Carson, a- and I, I, I've reported this a couple of times.
I think the Cowboys might very well find themselves, by the time we get to Tuesday, with a new fourth cornerback.
That does not, that does not look very good for Kaelyn Carson, which means I'm gonna, from a month ago, I'm gonna end up really wrong there.
And then, as long as we're talking about cornerbacks, you know who's getting a little bit of buzz?
Guy number nine, Ahmir Speed.
This is a 6'3" cornerback who's been in the league a little bit.
He I, I know, I, to me, this is like what the practice squad is made of.
This is what it's for.
But, if, if Carson performs poorly and Amir Speed performs well, we all might have to figure out, now who's this Amir Speed guy again?
Because 10.
And guy number 10, one of the most popular names discussed on this program in the last month.
All the time it comes up.
You guys bring it up.
Marist Liufau.
Now here's what I said about him a month ago.
They're, they're mo- he, he was good two years ago as a linebacker.
He was not particularly good last year.
They've moved him from linebacker to a new position in a new defense with a new position coach.
That does not sound very promising.
And yet, watch what happens when they line up on special teams.
And, and he, he lines up on special teams.
He will hit you.
So, well, I don't know if tonight, I don't, I don't know what his status is gonna be tonight, but again, he's another one of those guys that I'm like, if I'm him, I'm like, "I wanna play.
I wanna play every special team.
I want you to line me up at edge.
Then I want you to line me up at inside linebacker.
I want you to let me rush the passer.
I want to drop and cover.
I want to show you all the things I got."
And, and if he gets any of those chances, then those of you who've been saying, "Fish, you are missing the boat on Marist Liufau," you guys will get to say, "I told you so."
We will be all over this baby tonight and all weekend long, all over the Cowboys cuts as they get to 53.
A ha- happy wedding day to the Fisher family.
Janelle enters the Fisher family portal via Nate Fisher, and, we had a very quiet little, ceremony at the courthouse in Fort Worth just the way they wanted it, and then we're throwing a rocking party a week from now.
And so, I, I appreciate all the kind words that you guys have, offered, to Nate and Janelle and my family.
Cutdown's coming, and Bob Lilly coming as well.
That's a titillating beard scratcher.
Fish out.
