Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images There are still some improvements the Cowboys could look to make to their defensive line. The Dallas Cowboys added edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland in the NFL draft. After having an excellent training camp and preseason, Kneeland will be the first sub behind DeMarcus Lawrence and All-Pro Micah Parsons. The Cowboys did bring in veteran Carl Lawson, who they initially cut but brought back to the practice squad. However, Dallas could still use some more juice coming off the edge. When looking at the free agent market, there’s an intriguing name that the Cowboys should consider at edge rusher, and that’s Yannick Ngakoue. A former third-round pick in 2016, Ngakoue spent four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He hit his peak in 2017 when he was named to the Pro Bowl after amassing 12 sacks and leading the NFL with six forced fumbles. After demanding a trade, Ngakoue was sent to the Minnesota Vikings in August of 2020. Two months later, he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens. Ngakoue would play in 15 games between the two teams and record eight sacks. Ngakoue spent the 2021 campaign with the Las Vegas Raiders and produced 10 sacks and started all 17 games. A year later, with the Indianapolis Colts, Ngakoue put up 9.5 more sacks in 15 games. In 2023, Ngakoue was with the Chicago Bears, where he started 13 games and racked up four sacks before suffering a broken ankle. So, despite the recent bouncing around the league, Ngakoue still has what it takes to be a valuable piece to a rotation as he goes into his ninth year. Although he’s not a great run defender, Ngakoue can still get after the quarterback. Last season was the first when he didn’t record at least eight sacks. If the Cowboys brought him in, he could fill the role that Dante Fowler had in Dallas the previous two seasons where he played a little over 300 snaps per year on average had 10 total sacks. No team can have enough pass rushers in today’s NFL. Ngakoue is just the type of player that organizations would like to be available with the season approaching, and it would behoove the Cowboys to at least pick up the phone.

PFF grades, snap counts and more for every player waived on NFL roster cut-down day. • Bills let Frank Gore Jr. walk after solid preseason showing: The Southern Miss product produced an 84.3 PFF overall grade across 65 snaps. • Chiefs release former first-round pick Kadarius Toney: Toney never quite caught in Kansas City after being acquired from the Giants. • Dominate your fantasy draft: Subscribe to PFF+ to get full access to PFF’s suite of fantasy football tools, including the fantasy mock draft simulator, live draft assistant, fantasy draft rankings, cheat sheets and more! Click here to subscribe! For some, the NFL roster cuts deadline is a time to celebrate. For others, it’s a time to, hopefully, land with a new team in the aftermath. We’ve compiled each NFL team’s cuts after the 2024 preseason, accompanied by grades and snap counts. Snap counts include only offensive or defensive snaps. For special teams snaps, check out the special teams report in PFF Premium Stats 2.0. JUMP TO A TEAM: ARZ | ATL | BLT | BUF | CAR | CIN | CHI | CLE | DEN | DAL | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LVR | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WSH Arizona Cardinals Player Pos. Preseason snaps Preseason overall grade 2023 snaps 2023 overall grade Andre Baccellia WR 96 64.0 49 55.2 Austen Pleasants T 70 60.5 10 34.6 Dan Chisena WR 22 90.0 1 (-) Michael Ojemudia CB 83 57.2 0 (-) Krys Barnes LB 32 67.1 1 60 Desmond Ridder QB 79 51.5 848 52.8 Bobby Price CB 66 66.6 0 (-) Jaden Davis CB 70 49.5 649* 76.4* Myles Murphy DI 84 63.4 482* 68.9* Keith Ismael C 89 72.4 0 (-) Jackson Barton T 113 76.4 0 (-) Michael Carter HB 29 54.4 224 61.9 Bernhard Seikovits TE 59 60.7 0 (-) Cameron Thomas ED 90 77.7 1 60 Elijah Wilkinson T 75 47.9 501 52.4 Andre Chachere S 101 57.9 1 (-) Tejhaun Palmer WR 110 54.4 687* 71.7* Markus Bailey LB 100 41.5 29 60.8 Tyreek Maddox-Williams LB 106 61.1 5 22.8 Naquan Jones DI 80 70.9 171 42.8 Blake Whiteheart TE 111 50.0 2 58.6 Divaad Wilson CB 82 64.3 96 45.6 Ben Stille DI 99 66.4 134 45.4 Marquis Hayes G 123 71.1 0 (-) Phil Hoskins DI 85 40.1 124 45.9 Delonte Hood CB 17 50.5 0 (-) Hassan Hall HB 51 66.7 0 (-) Daylen Baldwin WR 46 58.5 0 (-) Sage Surratt TE 4 58.3 0 (-) T.J. Carter DI 37 35.3 0 (-) Chris Garrett ED 15 77.4 0 (-) Verone McKinley III S 107 60.1 0 (-) Trevor Nowaske LB 76 65.5 0 (-) Tyreke Smith ED 97 59.0 19 28.0 Atlanta Falcons Unlimited Fantasy League Sync Fantasy Start/Sit Line-Up Optimizer & Waiver Wire WR-CB & OL-DL Matchups, PFF Player Grades, & Premium Stats 2.0 Tools Nathan Jahnkes Rankings – #1 Most Accurate Last 70 Weeks PFF Best Bets, Player Props, & Power Ranking Tools NFL Mock Draft Sim with Trades & Draft Grades Subscribe now Already have a subscription? Log In

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images Dalvin Cook doesn’t feel he’s lost a step at all. It’s no secret that the Dallas Cowboys are going to a running-back-by-committee scenario in 2024 after failing to address the position in the NFL draft. When the dust settled from picking the 53-man roster, the Cowboys went with Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and Hunter Luepke (fullback) at the running back position. However, Dallas still felt they needed more and had veteran Dalvin Cook come in for a visit. Cook started last season with the New York Jets. Needless to say, the experiment was a disaster. Cook would only log 67 carries for 214 yards as Breece Hall would get the bulk of the work in the running game. When he did get his opportunities, the burst from years past looked to have been a memory, and Cook and the Jets decided to mutually part ways. When Cook signed with the Baltimore Ravens for the playoffs, it was the same thing. There was nothing to be excited about when it came to Cook’s performance. In Dallas, Cook will be on the practice squad. So, he’ll be used as insurance in case one of the guys above him gets an injury or is inactive which is the perfect scenario for him because being tasked with a big load isn’t something he needs to be doing at this stage in his career. Despite what was seen a year ago, Cook still believes that when his number is called, he can find that other gear and make plays. I got it. It’s right here. Cook had his best years in the league with the Minnesota Vikings, where he had four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons (2019-2022) and racked up four Pro Bowl nods in the process. Three of those years, Cook did so playing under Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys new defensive coordinator. Although they haven’t been in the same building in a few years, the relationship between Cook and Zimmer hasn’t wavered and it was a big factor in getting him to sign with the Cowboys, much like it did with linebacker Eric Kendricks and defensive tackle Linval Joseph who also had their best seasons under Zimmer with the Vikings. As mentioned earlier, Cook is long past being the lead horse in a running back room. Years and years of getting beat up have caused a change of course in his career. With that has come an adjustment for Cook not just on the field but off of it. What I can tell you, man: in this league, running backs, we take our bodies through so much. But it’s a point where you’ve got to know, alright, I’m getting up to a certain age, I’ve got to start upping the stuff off the field. As for me, I just picked up a certain routine and I just ran with it. I just feel like it’s got me to this point where I’m healthy and ready to go. So just stick to a routine. No matter the age, man. If you’ve got it, go get it. That’s my mindset. It’s a rough reality for some running backs once they get to a point where their best years may be in the rear view. Cook doesn’t lack confidence, but there’s another factor that keeps him going, being a father. My résumé speaks for itself to be honest. But I just had a son [Dalvin Jr.]. He turned 1 a week ago. I have everything to prove to him, to be honest. I owe the world to him. Every day I put on my pads, every day I wake up, that’s my why. Cook can be elevated three times to the Cowboys roster on game day. After that, they would need to add him to the active roster.

Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images We countdown the days to kickoff giving you an interesting fact about each number. Today is number 7 We are at day 7 of our 99 day countdown and just a week away until the regular season. Here is your daily fact associated with number 7. In 2007, Tony Romo made one of most incredible running plays of his career, and he didn’t even get that far upfield. Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images The Cowboys were on the verge of achieving a 4-0 record for the first time since 1995, the year they last claimed the Super Bowl title. They were set to compete against the St. Louis Rams, who were struggling with an 0-3 record and would ultimately fall to 0-8 before securing their first victory of the season. During the third quarter of the game, Romo successfully completed three touchdown passes, including a 59-yard and a 37-yard touchdown to Patrick Crayton, followed by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten. But the highlight of the day was undoubtedly Romo’s impressive scramble just before halftime. The sequence began with an errant shotgun snap from Andre Gurode, which sailed over Romo’s head. In pursuit of the loose ball, Romo found himself deep in the backfield, struggling to secure the bobbling ball, inadvertently pushing it further toward his own end zone. After a moment of panic, he managed to recover the ball, positioned a full 33 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Rather than opting to fall on the ball or throw it away, Romo made the bold decision to run with it, initiating his advance upfield while deftly evading two would-be tacklers. As he approached another defender poised for a significant tackle, Romo executed a remarkable juke, sidestepping the opponent. He then accelerated toward the first-down marker with determination. September 30, 2007: @tonyromo runs for a first down after the ball is snapped 25 yards over his head. pic.twitter.com/SbDxphdkY5 — This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) September 30, 2023 Despite his considerable efforts, Romo officially recorded a four-yard gain on the play, but the play did result in a first down. Five plays later, during another third-down situation, Romo advanced up the middle for a 15-yard run, securing the go-ahead touchdown with just 11 seconds remaining in the first half. The Cowboys ultimately triumphed in the game with a score of 35-7. Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images