WR James Washington creates an interesting roster dilemma for the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys, like the rest of the NFL, still have a lot of work to do until the 2022 season officially kicks off. Right now everybody is in evaluation mode trying to figure out how to best construct their final 53-man roster. There is no shortage of tough decisions that will have to be made, and one of those includes what Dallas plans to do with James Washington.

Sadly, James Washington has had a run of bad luck since joining the Cowboys this offseason as one of the few outside free agents they signed. First, an injury to his left foot sidelined him in OTA’s and minicamp, and to add injury to injury, he unfortunately fractured his right foot in practice at training camp.

You could say Washington has never really been able to find his footing (pun intended) since joining the Dallas Cowboys. Being sidelined for the next 6 to 10 weeks is less than ideal, especially considering he was signed to help bridge the gap until Michael Gallup returned to the starting lineup from his own injury. What’s worse, all of this puts Dallas in somewhat of a bind in more ways than one.

The first dilemma the Cowboys have to solve is whether or not James Washington is worth stashing until he can return from injury. This is a sticky situation because if they want to keep Washington around he has to make the initial 53-roster in order to make a midseason return. To do that though, Dallas may have to release someone and subject them to waivers before hopefully re-signing them to create a short-term roster spot for No. 83.

There is a simple solution to this if the Cowboys do indeed want to keep James Washington around. They could easily release long snapper Jake McQuaide to create a roster spot for Washington and then re-sign McQuaide after No. 83 is put on IR. It’s one way of beating the system so to speak, but again, that all depends on what they think of the former Steelers WR.

The team has to decide if James Washington is worth keeping around considering Michael Gallup will likely return to the field before him? If the answer is yes, he absolutely makes the initial 53-roster before being put on injured reserve. Then, once healthy, he can return from IR. However, if the answer is no, they simply release him and probably pay a minuscule injury settlement in order to part ways.

Therein lies the Cowboys interesting dilemma as it pertains to Washington. With each and every roster spot being a precious commodity, Washington may or may not be viewed as someone who has done enough to secure one from the get-go considering his inability to stay healthy. But, that’s the decision the Cowboys have to make for themselves when they start making cuts to get under the league mandated 53-man limit.