Will Matt Johnson be cut this week

[CoCo]

If he says on Monday he can't practice and won't be ready for the Texans game, does Garrett cut him since

1) he won't have proven his worth

2) send a message to players like Ratliff and Spencer that not being on the field will get you cut after the season.

Johnson vs Ratliff & Spencer. Talk about apples and oranges...

 

[Parcells4Life]

I mean guys that are "pets" of Jerry and supposedly the coaching staff which Johnson clearly is.

 

[jaybird]

I don't think his position is 100% safe; IR might be an option, but the guy just can't stay on the field.

Unless he practices and plays this week, he will be on the final cuts and they will attempt to place him on the practice squad.

 

[kirkjrk]

He will be put on IR/designated to return

Possibly PS another option.

 

[EPL0c0]

Show loyalty to the players that contribute. If we're talking bubble players and it comes down to Oline/Dline depth or even a RB vs Johnson... if you can't find a S in free agency, then go w/ depth elsewhere.

 

[85Cowboy85]

No he will 100% not be cut on Tuesday. And I think it's very likely he makes the final 53.

To clarify here I think there's an outside chance he gets cut on Saturday. Did not realize that both the 75 cut down date and the 53 cut down date were this week.

Regardless I don't think he has a whole lot of competition for a spot. We have a bunch of undrafted long shots he probably has better upside then any of them even with the injury history. There have been guys with injury problems early and went on to have good careers for other teams (Stephen Peterman and Jimmy Smith come to mind).

I think cutting him at this point would be very foolish.

 

[cowboys1985]

For sure, not this round cuts , but if he doesn't get on the field the next round could be it for him.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Heath makes a play....suddenly he's the next Eric Weddle.

Remember when everyone wanted to cut BW Webb?

Holy small sample sizes batman.

 

[perrykemp]

He is the next John Lynch... I heard it from multiple trusted sources here on CZ.

 

[Idgit]

I don't think his position is 100% safe; IR might be an option, but the guy just can't stay on the field.

I think the team *wants* a reason to keep him again, but, yeah, he's making it tough on himself here.

 

[Hoofbite]

Who knows what you do. I sure don't want to burn the IR-Return designation on him. It'd really suck to have an important player get hurt and then have a little less flexibility in filling his spot for the short time that he is out.

The guy doesn't appear to have the durability to play flag football.

 

[Idgit]

Heath makes a play....suddenly he's the next Eric Weddle.

Remember when everyone wanted to cut BW Webb?

Holy small sample sizes batman.

Heath's a career-backup type, but he has played well here all preseason when he gets in. Well enough that he's gone from an afterthought to a legitimate roster consideration.

He is the next John Lynch... I heard it from multiple trusted sources here on CZ.

I know I've never gone that far, but I really liked what little I've seen from Johnson. He's rangy, in position, and he tackles well. I think the team knows he's a smart player, too. I can easily see him being a quality player for us as early as this season if he were just able to stay on the field. The problem here is his repeated injuries, and not his overall ability.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I can only hope so

Of all the things to hope for why do you choose to hope for the failure of a Cowboys player?

 

[Risen Star]

I don't believe Matt Johnson can play. Healthy or not. I think there's a reason he wasn't even considered a priority free agent from the various draft resources available.

This guy did one thing and one thing only to impress anyone. Get drafted by the Cowboys.

 

[RastaRocket]

Why would Spencer and Ratliff care about Matt Johnson? They are a whole different class of players. Better yet, why do you want Spencer and Ratliff off the team?

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I don't believe Matt Johnson can play. Healthy or not. I think there's a reason he wasn't even considered a priority free agent from the various draft resources available.

This guy did one thing and one thing only to impress anyone. Get drafted by the Cowboys.

Except you mean....for the fact...that in the time we have seen him on the field he has competent?

And you know....for the fact...that the team has had nothing but good things to say about him....and clearly have kept him on the roster to protect him from the rest of the league.

But I guess for someone like you who doesn't think the front office is very good at selecting and developing players this doesn't mean much to you....except for...you know...our last three draft classes having been excellent.

 

[The Natural]

Of all the things to hope for why do you choose to hope for the failure of a Cowboys player?

Save the sob story. He's contributed nothing to this franchise.

 

[Idgit]

Of all the things to hope for why do you choose to hope for the failure of a Cowboys player?

The only answer to this, literally, is that it validates earlier complaining about the player. Otherwise, you hope for the best outcome possible, and hope that every other FA pickup we make at that position group is even better.

Much rather have guys booted from the roster because they're beat out than because of early career injuries.

 

[85Cowboy85]

I don't believe Matt Johnson can play. Healthy or not. I think there's a reason he wasn't even considered a priority free agent from the various draft resources available.

This guy did one thing and one thing only to impress anyone. Get drafted by the Cowboys.

You are making too much out of the draft resources. Many guys who are small school prospects tend to slip through the cracks because

1) The tape is not as available as the guys who play on TV on Saturdays

2) It is much harder for the amateur draftniks to evaluate guys against lesser competition.

I'm always reminded of the time the Raiders selected Mike Mitchell. Guy was listed as a seventh rounder by Mayock. Later it was revealed that several other teams were targeting him there and Mayock basically admitted that he had not spent enough time watching his tape.

Have I seen anything out of Johnson personally? Of course not he hasn't played. But it is possible to read the tea leaves so to speak with regards to how he is playing at practice. There's no way he stays on the 53-man all of last year of he didn't show anything. The fact that they felt he could have helped the team should they have advanced to the wildcard round suggests he is already better then McCray.

 

[Idgit]

Honestly, I don't know how teams go about determining if a player is prone to injury, or whether it just so happens that they got injured two or three times in succession. At some point, you just can't reserve a roster spot any longer, but, that's what IR is for, anyway.
Personally, I'd hate to see us cut Johnson. I know the team was very excited about him on draft day, and it's very clear by their attempt to keep him active last season that they thought he could contribute on game days given what they'd seen in practice. This year, I liked a lot what I saw from his limited preseason snaps. I'm hoping against hope he's able to practice soon. If he's able to get on the field before the first week of the season, I'd have him on the roster. Then, if he's hurt, IR him. If it's niggling injuries the first half of the year or so, I'd consider cutting him then and bringing Heath up from the PS to take his place. Though I'd understand if the team were to move on at this point if he's not ready for the regular season.