As far as the players let go on Monday, which cut surprised you the most? – Ron Wilcox/St. Louis, MO
Nick Eatman: I think any time you see multiple draft picks cut, it's somewhat of a surprise, especially since they were from last year's class. However, to be fair, it's not like Eric Scott and/or Viliami Fehoko really made a lot of plays - if any. They just didn't meet the expectations that come with being a draft pick. The one that I'm a little surprised about it Willie Harvey, the leading tackler for the UFL this summer. And man, if he had picked off that pass against the Raiders early in the preseason game, not only does he likely run it back for a touchdown, but that could be the difference in him making the team or not. For me, the emergence of Buddy Johnson and the special teams ability of Nick Vigil likely played a factor in cutting Harvey. Overall, I don't think there were a lot of surprises from Monday's cuts. But I have a feeling we won't be saying the same about Tuesday's cuts.
Kurt: I wouldn't say any are huge surprises, although I wondered if they might keep cornerback Eric Scott on the roster. He clearly didn't shine as much as others during training camp and the preseason, but because the Cowboys traded up to select him in the sixth round of last year's draft, I thought that might garner Scott a little leeway. Of course, that was for Dan Quinn's defense, and Mike Zimmer may have had less patience, given that he's only on a one-year contract. Regardless, after failing to appear in a game during the 2023 season, Scott obviously wasn't able to make much of a leap this second time around. I would assume he's a candidate for the practice squad, especially with Dallas now facing some uncertainty at cornerback, but with both Scott and fourth-round pick Viliami Fehoko being waived (the latter likely headed to injured reserve), the Cowboys' 2023 draft class continues to look, well, underwhelming. Let's hope progress is made and soon. If not from these two, than from the rest of that rookie class.
