IRVING, Texas – The Cowboys made the first five of 15 projected cuts on Monday afternoon, as they prepare to meet the NFL's 75-man roster limit on Sept. 1.
The team parted ways with Tom Hornsey, Casey Kreiter, Robert Steeples, Phil Bates and Carlif Taylor to begin the roster-trimming process.
They'll need to make 10 more cuts to reach the 75-man limit by the deadline, which is Tuesday at 3 p.m.
None of the preliminary cuts were major role players during the Cowboys' 31-day stay at training camp in Oxnard, Calif. Hornsey and Kreiter have now spent two summers with the Cowboys, but neither was considered a serious threat to unseat the respective starter at their position – Chris Jones and L.P. Ladouceur.
Steeples was signed to the practice squad last November and remained with the Cowboys through their playoff run. He saw an uptick in reps during training camp, largely due to a variety of injury issues at the cornerback position.
Bates and Taylor – a wide receiver and a defensive tackle, respectively – spent the least amount of time on the roster. Bates signed on Aug. 20, and Taylor joined on the next day, just in time for both players to get onto the field in the Aug. 23 preseason loss to San Francisco. Neither of the two played a snap in Saturday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
