ESPN predicts Cowboys 53-man roster: No Rico Gathers, three QBs, and an undrafted free agent

You know how some people (raises hand) throw their Christmas decorations up the day right after Thanksgiving? The fourth week of the preseason is the day after Thanksgiving, and 53-man roster predictions are the decorations.

We’ve talked a lot about the roster over the last few weeks here at BTB and we’ve even projected it ourselves a few times. A new ornament, I mean roster, made its way across the internet on Tuesday morning (ironically that’s a store where you can purchase decorations), one from ESPN’s Todd Archer. You can view it here.

Archer is one of the best Cowboys insiders there is so his roster prediction is of supreme fascination. A lot of things on it aren’t surprises, but there are things of note. Let’s discuss.

There are three quarterbacks

Cooper Rush hasn’t looked like his rookie self this preseason, and Mike White hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. In spite of this Todd has the Cowboys keeping all three of their young quarterbacks.

This is a fascinating detail right off the bat as three quarterbacks means you have to go thin elsewhere. Let’s find out where.

Bo Scarbrough makes the team over Darius Jackson

A low-key argument that’s been brewing over Cowboys Twitter throughout the preseason has been Team Bo versus Team Darius. There are certainly pros and cons to either making the team, but Bo makes it here. I’m sure Nick Saban will be thrilled.

Lance Lenoir is left off of the team

There’s no denying that Lance Lenoir had himself a, um, so, it was, not very good game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Nevertheless I championed his cause because what we’ve seen besides that has been solid. Still though, he’s not here. Sigh.

Rico Gathers is also a cut here

Brace yourselves, BTB. It’s about to get real. On this particular 53-man roster projection we are looking at a Gathers-less world for the Dallas Cowboys. Archer is obviously aware of Team Rico’s prominence as he addressed them specifically.

The Rico Gathers fan club will hate this, but there is simply too much for him to overcome to be a factor on the roster. He needed to do more than just make flash plays. Swaim has come on lately. Jarwin can work the seams. Schultz needs to get stronger but has a good base to work with.

Brian Price is a Hot Boy, Charles Tapper is not

There has been some debate about whether or not Price will make the team, but he’s definitely looked good enough (specifically in Oxnard) to do it. He may be the cut if/when David Irving comes back, but that’s a discussion for a different day.

Also interesting to note here is Charles Tapper’s exclusion for the team. The Cowboys suddenly have a bevy of pass rushers (what world is this?) so there are going to be players we like that get left off.

Charvarius Ward is this year’s undrafted free agent success story

Plenty of folks have been on the Charvarius Ward bandwagon for quite some time now, and it’s picked up more passengers by the day. In the world of this particular 53-man roster, his hard work is rewarded with a spot on the Dallas Cowboys. How cool is that?