Getty The Cowboys could use another playmaker for Dak Prescott.
The Dallas Cowboys have waived wide receiver Dennis Houston, who had found a spot on the active roster as an undrafted free agent.
Houston played in the first two games of the season, with the Cowboys choosing to have him active over third-round pick Jalen Tolbert. He managed two catches on six targets for 16 yards in the pair of games.
Because Houston has been waived, any team has the ability to sign him. If he clears waivers, it’s more than likely that the Cowboys will keep him around on the practice squad.
Houston made some fans in the preseason, including quarterback Dak Prescott, who was happy to have him as a part of the young-gun receiving corps in Dallas.
“When you break the huddle he’s lining up in the right spot, no matter what position he’s in,” Prescott said of Houston in August. “This goes way back to the spring, running the routes at the right depth every time he’s firing off the ball. He’s giving good looks. He’s where I expect him to be on each and every play and he’s coming back and asking about things, communicating about things.”
In the preseason, Houston caught three balls for 43 yards.
Houston Move Could Signal Michael Gallup is Ready
Dallas moving on from Houston after having him active for the first two games could signal that Michael Gallup is ready to return to the lineup. Gallup has sat out the first two games of the season as he continued his recovery from a torn ACL that he suffered in January.
The Cowboys have been optimistic and has called Gallup’s progress “on target” through the first few weeks of the season. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones even said in Week 1 that if it was the Super Bowl, Gallup would be playing, emphasizing that the team was being cautious with his recovery.
Cowboys Executive Vice President and Director of Player Personnel Stephen Jones told 105.3FM the Fan on Monday that Gallup playing this week against the Giants was a possibility.
“Certainly [Michael] Gallup has a chance to work back in,” Jones said. “Certainly possible for him to be up against the Giants this week. This [WR] corps I think is going to come together.”
The Cowboys have been relying on CeeDee Lamb to carry to the load at the wide receiver position without proven veterans around him. However, Noah Brown stepped up last week against the Bengals, snagging five catches for 91 yards, including a catch in the fourth quarter that set up the game-winning field goal. Any extra help would be huge for the Cowboys passing game with Prescott sidelined.
Jalen Tolbert Also an Option for Cowboys
If Gallup isn’t ready to go, Tolbert might be ready to make his NFL debut after being a healthy scratch the first two weeks of the season.
“He’s a young player that, frankly, a lot has been asked of him,” McCarthy said last week. “We were all so impressed when he arrived, and the hamstring injury really played a factor in this, because having him play all the positions — treating him, frankly, how we treated CeeDee [Lamb] when CeeDee arrived [in 2020] — and not really having the opportunities early on special teams, he’s a step behind the other guys. That’s really all it is.”
The fact that Tolbert was not suited up for the first two games was quite frankly a little concerning. The Cowboys selected him with the 88th pick in this year’s draft after a successful career at South Alabama. In college he notched 3,140 receiving yards on 178 catches while adding 22 touchdowns.
I don’t think you know what “breakout” means.