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Cowboys Finalize 53-Man Roster: Howell Beats Out Milton for Backup QB Job, Notable Cuts Include First Navajo Nation Player
The Dallas Cowboys have trimmed their roster to 53 players, settling the backup quarterback battle in favor of Sam Howell over Joe Milton. Rookie wide receiver Camden Brown made the team, while the roster cut of Shiyazh Pete, the first Navajo Nation player in the NFL, drew attention from both Cowboys and Cardinals fans.
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Cowboys Finalize 53-Man Roster, Name Backup Quarterback
The Dallas Cowboys have released their starting roster for the season, whittling the squad down from the 91 players who attended training camp to 53. One of the most hotly-contested competitions was at backup quarterback, where the team chose to keep both Joe Milton and Sam Howell on the initial 53-man roster before ultimately cutting Milton to make room for running back Emari Demercado, who was claimed off waivers.
Dak Prescott will, of course, be the starter, with the team keeping three quarterbacks on the roster for now. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the competition was not settled before the move was reported. "That's not completely settled, and we need to work through that. We're constantly ripping [their] film. We're not ready to make that decision," Schottenheimer said.
Howell's Experience Wins the Job
Sam Howell won the backup job due to his consistency and experience, having started 18 of the 20 games he has played in during his career and throwing 645 passes. Milton showed signs of improvement but took a step back in preseason Week 3, leaving Howell as the safer option. If Milton clears waivers, the Cowboys intend to add him to the practice squad.
Rookie Wide Receiver Makes the Cut and Other Notable Roster Moves
Rookie wide receiver Camden Brown made the team with a strong preseason, recording six catches, 166 yards, and two touchdowns. Several notable players were cut, including running backs Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah, cornerback Devin Moore, and linebacker Sam Williams. Marist Liufau was placed on the injured reserve list after fracturing his forearm, and the team added Von Miller.
In a move that disappointed many fans, the Cowboys cut offensive lineman Shiyazh Pete. Pete, the first member of the Navajo Nation to play in the NFL, was a fan favorite and received cheers from both Cowboys and Cardinals fans during a preseason match.
How each outlet told it
A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.
Framing: The headline emphasizes the finalization of the roster and the cutting of notable players, a straightforward news framing. — Neutral to mildly sympathetic, particularly toward player Shiyazh Pete, whose cut is described with emotional context (first Navajo Nation player, fan cheers).
Facts Included:
The Dallas Cowboys have released their starting roster for the season.
The team whittled down the roster from the 91 players who attended training camp to just 53.
3 quarterbacks on the roster.
Dak Prescott will be the starter.
The team is keeping three quarterbacks, including Joe Milton and Sam Howell.
Howell may have earned his spot with a late game comeback attempt.
Rookie wide receiver Camden Brown made the roster.
Brown had six catches, 166 yards, and two touchdowns in the preseason.
Former Texas running back Jaydon Blue and former Clemson running back Phil Mafah were cut.
Cornerback Devin Moore and linebacker Sam Williams were cut.
Marist Liufau is on the injured reserve list after fracturing his forearm against the Saints.
Offensive lineman Shiyazh Pete was cut and not offered a practice squad spot.
Pete was the first member of the Navajo Nation to ever play in the NFL.
Pete received cheers from both Cowboys and Cardinals fans during a preseason match and went viral for his post-game locker room speech.
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimThe Dallas Cowboys had a hotly-contested backup quarterback competition this offseason between Joe Milton and Sam Howell.
ClaimThe Cowboys chose to keep both Joe Milton and Sam Howell on the initial 53-man roster (before cutting Milton, which made room for Emari Demercado).
ClaimHead coach Brian Schottenheimer noted that the backup quarterback competition was not settled and that Howell had been slightly more consistent than Milton before the preseason.
ClaimMilton came storming back over the first two preseason games, when he thoroughly outplayed Howell, but took a clear step back in preseason Week 3.
ClaimThe team cut offensive lineman Shiyazh Pete, who was the first member of the Navajo Nation to ever play in the NFL, and did not offer him a practice squad spot.