Cut Mazi Smith? Cowboys Ready For 'Hard Conversations' Amid Looming Roster Moves

The Dallas Cowboys wrapped up their preseason with a 31-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium, with several players fighting for their footballing lives.

This was the final chance for those looking to push themselves up the depth chart and those fighting just to make the team to put on a good showing for head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the rest of the coaching staff.

And the best part is most did, making for what we think will be an interesting roster cutdown day.

And Schottenheimer knows it.

"I think it's going to be tough," Schottenheimer said. "Why? Because I think we're a talented roster and very competitive position battles. When you're looking at a 53-man roster, you're like where are you going to fit these guys? There were some guys that I thought stepped up that made a great statement saying what they wanted to do.

"It's supposed to be hard, and it's supposed to require very long conversations and hard conversations and back and forth. This is why you don't hire yes men on your staff."

Players like Ryan Flournoy, James Houston, Phil Mafah, Justin Barron, Perrion Winfrey, Alijah Clark, Kemon Hall and others all impressed at AT&T Stadium, and now we wait to see the final outcome.

Of course, those guys have been at the back half of the roster all summer ... unlike Mazi Smith, the former first-rounder who is officially a starter ... but who also might be on the roster bubble here.

Said Schotty: "There's been a lot of good with him but there's been some inconsistency. I thought he maximized his reps (on Friday). ... Excited about the way he performed (Friday).''

Is that a real endorsement? We're about to find out.

For some, their NFL journey will continue with the Cowboys, for others, that journey ends, with the hope that another team will take a chance.

Schottenheimer's first offseason is nearly complete, with the "worst" part of the job to come in the next couple of days. Brian stated he hasn't hired "yes men" and we're about to see how his first 53-man roster will land.

Color us intrigued.