Twitter: Cowboys release WR Dennis Houston UPDATE: joins Practice Squad

[Aven8]

That seems odd considering that he played more than some other WRs on the 53.

Very strange considering he started. Having said that I don’t even think he had a catch last week

 

[quickccc]

If we're going to bring up Peters, then we have to clear space. Or it might be McKeon with Schultz sidelined for at least a couple of games.

thanks for sharing ..

So who did we bring up from PS, for John Ridgeway have to be cut ?

this practice squad call-up brings confusion, imo

at first we can bring up .guys like Grier and Maurer from practice squad to active game day without having to release anyone ...and now we have to release a player to
bring up Peters from the PS ?

And i didn't see Houston enuff to know how much of a very minimal loss he was, but far off it looks like he was JAG.

 

[quickccc]

Very strange considering he started. Having said that I don’t even think he had a catch last week

Even then with one catch vs Bucs, that may have made him far ahead of Simi Fehoko .....

 

[quickccc]

Gallup was already on 53.

Likely Peters and/or McKeon being the call ups.

don't be surprised if McKeon gets hurt after 11 snaps.
He's been injury prone thus far.

 

[Doomsday101]

By the end of today if Houston in not claimed by another team Dallas can sign him to the PS. I really do not find this shocking, you have Peters who was signed to the PS and for him to come up someone has to go down.

 

[gimmesix]

thanks for sharing ..

So who did we bring up from PS, for John Ridgeway have to be cut ?

this practice squad call-up brings confusion, imo

at first we can bring up .guys like Grier and Maurer from practice squad to active game day without having to release anyone ...and now we have to release a player to
bring up Peters from the PS ?

And i didn't see Houston enuff to know how much of a very minimal loss he was, but far off it looks like he was JAG.

We signed Rush and Maher to the 53. This would have been the last week we could have brought them up anyway, since the call-ups can only be done with a player three times. (We've done it once with Grier now, too, since we had to have a backup with Prescott out).

We don't actually have to bring up Peters to the 53, but I just figure that we would instead of using the callup method. We might just call him up for three games before deciding. There could be other reasons for us to cut Houston. For example, if we wanted to sign a quarterback off another team's practice squad, we would need a roster spot to do it.

I think what we're saying, though, is that Houston was kept on the 53 strictly because Gallup was not going to be available and Tolbert either wasn't ready yet having been slowed by injury. I think the fact that he has looked like a JAG so far made the decision to release him easier because there's a better chance of getting him to the practice squad and seeing if he can develop.

I think the decision on Ridgeway was a bit more foolish because a) we drafted him in the fifth round, which means many other teams also had a draftable grade on him and b) he's a big, strong interior DT, so teams are going to want to find out if he can play. Now, he may never amount to much of anything, but I would have held on to him and cut Hill, who we know hasn't amounted to much after multiple years in the league.

 

[CCBoy]

Just say you never played football past junior high. He should've learned his assignments by now. Every other WR in the past 10 years of running this offense knew the plays except for this guy. He's not the QB he should know the offense, getting hurt has nothing to do with learning where he's supposed to be.

No, just say you never played in the Rose Bowl or NAIA National Championship...when YOU were in college. Gil Steinke was at A&I as Head Coach...and Ben Martin was the Head Coach for Falcons at USAFA. By the way, Bill Parcells replaced Martin at the Academy...stick to what you actually know, Braggaart make believe.

 

[Creeper]

Really? Depth at DT is very different from depth at WR. They aren’t building and manipulating a roster each week based on who has more potential at WR vs who has more potential at DT, or QB vs C. It’s all about the best roster for this week’s game day and which player they like long term.

I still believe they were disappointed in Bohannon last season and took a flier on Ridgeway. Once Bohannon showed his improvement and dedication and Ridgeway showed very little as a rookie, it was a calculated risk to try and slip Ridgeway onto the practice squad for depth development. Look how long it took for the Cowboys to have interest in even one 1-tech nose type. No way they would keep two of them on the actual roster, especially the game day roster. They can find a Bohannon/Ridgeway every year late in the draft.

Ridgeway looked like Bohanna did in his rookie season. He looked overmatched. But as a 5th round pick what expectation would they have for him? The point is Bohanna made a huge leap from year 1 to year 2, maybe Ridgeway does too. Sure they can draft another DT next year, but then he will need another year to develop as well. Considering Washington picked up Ridgeway, despite having a DL made up of 1st round picks, and it is rumored several other teams put in waiver claims on him too, it sounds like the Cowboys made a mistake exposing him to waivers. If Houston clears waivers and makes it to the practice squad, because undrafted WRs like Houston are not hard to find, it just shows the Cowboys made a mistake with Ridgeway. We have no idea what kind of player Ridgeway will turn out to be but it is not like DT is a strength of the Cowboys, and Dan Quinn has already expressed disappointment in losing him. Let's see if Kellen Moore expresses disappointment if they lose Houston.

Another way to look at it is Ridgeway is a 5th round pick, the same pick they got in return for Amari Cooper. They just gave that pick away for nothing which means they gave Amari Cooper, one of the best route runners in the NFL away for nothing. Keep wasting draft picks like that and you wind up not winning a Super Bowl in 27 years.

 

[quickccc]

We signed Rush and Maher to the 53. This would have been the last week we could have brought them up anyway, since the call-ups can only be done with a player three times. (We've done it once with Grier now, too, since we had to have a backup with Prescott out).

We don't actually have to bring up Peters to the 53, but I just figure that we would instead of using the callup method. We might just call him up for three games before deciding. There could be other reasons for us to cut Houston. For example, if we wanted to sign a quarterback off another team's practice squad, we would need a roster spot to do it.

I think what we're saying, though, is that Houston was kept on the 53 strictly because Gallup was not going to be available and Tolbert either wasn't ready yet having been slowed by injury. I think the fact that he has looked like a JAG so far made the decision to release him easier because there's a better chance of getting him to the practice squad and seeing if he can develop.

I think the decision on Ridgeway was a bit more foolish because a) we drafted him in the fifth round, which means many other teams also had a draftable grade on him and b) he's a big, strong interior DT, so teams are going to want to find out if he can play. Now, he may never amount to much of anything, but I would have held on to him and cut Hill, who we know hasn't amounted to much after multiple years in the league.

- Gallup and Tolbert were already on the 53 roster, and the team made the decision not to PUP Gallup, so their roster spot never affected or threaten Houston's roster spot.

- If anything a decision is gonna have to be made on WR James Washington at some point ..someone would either have to be cut to bring him back to 53 active roster,
.or the team could make him a permanent IR for the remaining season.

- If the team really thought that much about Ridgeway, then why not a more maligned player such as Josh Ball ?
Too much of a dire shortage at reserve OT ? ... Too much of a tougher task to find Ball's replacement ? or do they really think it's only a matter of time before Ball turns it around into the
promising, athletic player they envisioned him to be ?

- i'm sure many here still yell for Hill to be cut that will continue the villainous pathway, but that's certain fans and media that want to continue to cast that out. but he may actually
be our best interior pass rusher among the DTs. i don't cut a player of that caliber.
He may not end up being the impact 2nd rd pick we envisioned, but he's no scrub either. At best he can still be a valuable rotation, depth player..

More so, the guy who i have questions about at this time, will likely be far less than
a Basham or a Hill is Chauncy Golston, i really don't see his value. i wonder if he'll be
as JAG as they come.
I fear he's just gonna be a grunt, just try-hard guy that doesnt' show up enuff to me.

 

[Hennessy_King]

How can you be that far off in your talent evaluation??

This front office is clueless. They do such dumb things that make no sense

 

[gimmesix]

- Gallup and Tolbert were already on the 53 roster, and the team made the decision not to PUP Gallup, so their roster spot never affected or threaten Houston's roster spot.

It wasn't a roster spot issue with them, it was a personnel issue. Gallup was out and Tolbert wasn't ready, so we kept an extra receiver. Considering the Houston also was playing ahead of Fehoko, we simply did not have quality depth, so we kept Houston. Now, that Gallup is back and Tolbert seems to be coming on, we have better depth and can park Houston on the PS to use that roster spot for another position.

- If anything a decision is gonna have to be made on WR James Washington at some point ..someone would either have to be cut to bring him back to 53 active roster,
.or the team could make him a permanent IR for the remaining season.

Most of these decisions take care of themselves because of injuries. For instance, we knew that we were eventually going to have to put Maher on the 53 since we could only bring him up three times. The injury to Basham made it possible to do it now without having to cut someone. The Houston cut is numbers at his position vs. whoever they are planning to bring in or up.

- If the team really thought that much about Ridgeway, then why not a more maligned player such as Josh Ball ?
Too much of a dire shortage at reserve OT ? ... Too much of a tougher task to find Ball's replacement ? or do they really think it's only a matter of time before Ball turns it around into the
promising, athletic player they envisioned him to be ?

We either see more promise in Ball and Waletzko than Ridgeway or felt that we had a better chance of getting Ridgeway to the PS. Sometimes, who you waive is a calculated risk. For example, Houston may be ahead of Tolbert right now as a receiver, but you'd rather risk a UDFA who nobody wanted in the draft than a third-round pick who everybody probably had on their board somewhere.

- i'm sure many here still yell for Hill to be cut that will continue the villainous pathway, but that's certain fans and media that want to continue to cast that out. but he may actually
be our best interior pass rusher among the DTs. i don't cut a player of that caliber.
He may not end up being the impact 2nd rd pick we envisioned, but he's no scrub either. At best he can still be a valuable rotation, depth player..

I don't agree with you on Hill, but obviously someone on the team thinks he was worth keeping over Ridgeway.

More so, the guy who i have questions about at this time, will likely be far less than
a Basham or a Hill is Chauncy Golston, i really don't see his value. i wonder if he'll be
as JAG as they come.
I fear he's just gonna be a grunt, just try-hard guy that doesnt' show up enuff to me.

I'm not certain about Golston, but I believe he contributes more as a 5-tech run defender than Hill contributes as a pass rusher. He's also only in his second season, so there's still room to grow.

 

[quickccc]

It wasn't a roster spot issue with them, it was a personnel issue. Gallup was out and Tolbert wasn't ready, so we kept an extra receiver. Considering the Houston also was playing ahead of Fehoko, we simply did not have quality depth, so we kept Houston. Now, that Gallup is back and Tolbert seems to be coming on, we have better depth and can park Houston on the PS to use that roster spot for another position.


Most of these decisions take care of themselves because of injuries. For instance, we knew that we were eventually going to have to put Maher on the 53 since we could only bring him up three times. The injury to Basham made it possible to do it now without having to cut someone. The Houston cut is numbers at his position vs. whoever they are planning to bring in or up.

We either see more promise in Ball and Waletzko than Ridgeway or felt that we had a better chance of getting Ridgeway to the PS. Sometimes, who you waive is a calculated risk. For example, Houston may be ahead of Tolbert right now as a receiver, but you'd rather risk a UDFA who nobody wanted in the draft than a third-round pick who everybody probably had on their board somewhere.

I don't agree with you on Hill, but obviously someone on the team thinks he was worth keeping over Ridgeway.

I'm not certain about Golston, but I believe he contributes more as a 5-tech run defender than Hill contributes as a pass rusher. He's also only in his second season, so there's still room to grow.

That had better be related about health, and injury, otherwise that would still not be an encouraging sign, imo .. that an undrafted Houston is "ready" to go ahead of the 4th rd draftee.

and its' too hard to determine game-ready and shining when the lights come on, in practice vs game day situations.

 

[BAT]

Even then with one catch vs Bucs, that may have made him far ahead of Simi Fehoko .....

Simi Fehoko is much better ST player and Houston was given a million targets in real games but he cant separate or make the tough catch.

 

[BAT]

Why didn't they release Houston earlier instead of Ridgeway?

They way they are managing their roster this year is weird.

Because Houston was a starter or rotation player in last 2 games while Ridgeway was inactive.

If both 100% healthy, you keep the ones who actually play.

 

[silver]

Houston likely going to the practice squad unless he's poached off waivers like Ridgeway.

No NFL team is poaching Houston. JAG. Dime a dozen.

 

[silver]

Patrik Walker literally works for the Cowboys. I'm watching his radio show, from The Star, on Twitter right now.

He's a cheerleader. The new Mickey Spagnola.

 

[gimmesix]

That had better be related about health, and injury, otherwise that would still not be an encouraging sign, imo .. that an undrafted Houston is "ready" to go ahead of the 4th rd draftee.

and its' too hard to determine game-ready and shining when the lights come on, in practice vs game day situations.

Third-round draftee, but it is bit concerning. The excuse being given is that Tolbert's injury before the preseason set him back some.

However, it is important to remember that it's tough for any rookie to make the transition to the NFL. Rookies often need time. Gallup, another third-round pick, wasn't really ready to contribute until halfway through his rookie year. He was kind of in the same situation where more was expected of him early because we had cut Dez and had a bunch of nothing at receiver besides Beasley. But his inability to step up immediately was part of the reason we got Cooper.

It's most likely that Houston would not have made the roster if either Gallup or Washington had been healthy to start the year, and that Tolbert would have been kept over Houston because of his potential as a third-round pick. Eventually, Tolbert is expected to be the better receiver. He just wasn't up to this point.

 

[gimmesix]

No NFL team is poaching Houston. JAG. Dime a dozen.

Some felt the same about Ridgeway, so we'll see. It's hard to say what other teams see or believe about a player. It just takes one to think he's better or has more potential than the last receiver on their roster.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Why didn't they release Houston earlier instead of Ridgeway?

They way they are managing their roster this year is weird.

It's almost like we have an owner who thinks he's a GM but has no idea what he's doing.

 

[quickccc]

Third-round draftee, but it is bit concerning. The excuse being given is that Tolbert's injury before the preseason set him back some.

However, it is important to remember that it's tough for any rookie to make the transition to the NFL. Rookies often need time. Gallup, another third-round pick, wasn't really ready to contribute until halfway through his rookie year. He was kind of in the same situation where more was expected of him early because we had cut Dez and had a bunch of nothing at receiver besides Beasley. But his inability to step up immediately was part of the reason we got Cooper.

It's most likely that Houston would not have made the roster if either Gallup or Washington had been healthy to start the year, and that Tolbert would have been kept over Houston because of his potential as a third-round pick. Eventually, Tolbert is expected to be the better receiver. He just wasn't up to this point.

Tough transition, but you cannot gain that transition if you're not on the playing field., .you cannot gain the necessary game experience if you are gameday inactive

and Houston was a rookie too,.. and if his absence wasn't injury related, and he was as regarded and valued per Cowboys draft board,
it's concerning that an undrafted rookie who was just let go off the roster, had already made strides ahead of Tolbert.

Assuming he's healthy enuff to play, it will be very interesting to see if Tolbert makes the active on Game day list, now with Houston gone.

1 Lamb
2 Gallup
3 Noah B
4Turpin
5 Fehoko
6 Tolbert
7 .. Washington ?