Dallas Cowboys 2022 NFL preseason round-up: most valuable franchise, roster cuts, Gallup…
With two weeks of preseason down and one to go, the Cowboys still have decisions to make before the roster cuts are made today and the final cuts in a week.
Cowboys top Forbes’ most valuable NFL franchise list
For the 16th year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys have been listed as the NFL’s most valuable franchise with a huge $8 billion worth. From last year, that’s a 23% increase. The Cowboys are also the most valuable sports team in general, in the world. They’ve held that title for the last seven years, surpassing Spanish soccer team Real Madrid in 2016. Playoff wins and championships be damned.
Say what you will about Jerry Jones as a football team owner, but he’s an undeniably good business investor. Since he bought the team in 1989, the Cowboys’ value has increased by 3,900 percent. A big part of that increase is due to Jones fighting with the NFL in the 90s to be able to make sponsorship deals outside of the NFL’s revenue-sharing model. Last season, the Cowboys made over $220 million in stadium advertising and sponsorship revenue - more than double the amount of any other NFL team, according to Forbes.
Final preseason game, week 3: Cowboys vs Seahawks, Roster predictions
The Cowboys will play their final preseason game back in Dallas against the Seattle Seahawks this Friday at 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET) at AT&T Stadium. So let’s talk about the roster. They must cut the roster from 85 to 80 by 4 p.m. ET today, and there is one week left to make the final cuts to the 53-man roster. Saturdays’ win over the Chargers solidified a few things - Israel Mukuamu, Trysten Hill, and (in case you didn’t hear) KaVontae Turpin made strong enough arguments to secure their spot on the team.
There are still a lot of questions though. Will Dallas keep Cooper Rush as the QB3? Will Grier looked much better than Rush, so I’m just predicting they’re taking him as the QB2. But where does that leave Rush? Likely the practice squad, I suppose, as there’s no use him taking up roster space. And what about Malik Davis and Rico Dowdle? Could the Cowboys keep four running backs on the roster? If not, do they cut explosive Davis or experienced and versatile Dowdle? And of course, the question remains, what the heck are the Cowboys going to do to solve their tackle problem? Tyron Smith needs a backup and Josh Ball just keeps showing them he isn’t the one. As for the kicker, I would choose Brett Maher over Lirim Hajrullahu at this point, though neither gets me excited.
Good news for Gallup
As wide receiver Michael Gallup continues to recover his ACL injury, the biggest question now is whether he’ll start the season on the PUP list or not. If he is put on the list, he will be required to miss at least the first four games. If not, he can re-join the team at any point.
Gallup was injured just at the end of the regular season last year when he went up to catch a touchdown pass against the Arizona Cardinals. He got the grab, but it came at a high cost, as he came down clutching his knee in pain, suffering an ACL tear. He had surgery in February and has been rehabbing since then. Now, it remains to be seen how long Gallup will be out. He has been unable to participate in training camp though he’s been present at every single one. Last week, on Thursday’s joint practice with the Chargers, Gallup was able to practice some for the first time and was running routes and catching passes from Dak Prescott.
Gallup still isn’t likely to play week 1 of the regular season, but his progress gives hope that he’ll be back sooner than later.