Dallas Cowboys training camp preview: Key dates, notable additions, biggest storylines

With 2024 NFL training camps set to open, it’s time to get up to speed on all 32 NFL teams. Eric Edholm has the lowdown on position battles, key players and notable subplots across the NFC East.

Catch up on the Dallas Cowboys’ offseason developments and 2024 outlook below.

Training Camp Dates/Information

• Players report: July 24 (rookies & veterans)
• Location: Marriott Residence Inn | Oxnard, California (fan information)

Notable Roster Changes

Preseason Schedule

• Week 1: at Los Angeles Rams | 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 11 (NFL Network)
• Week 2: at Las Vegas Raiders | 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 17 (NFL Network)
• Week 3: vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 24 (NFL Network)

2024 Schedule Notes

• The Cowboys play the New York Giants twice in Thursday games, including in Week 4 on Thursday Night Football and in Week 13 on Thanksgiving Day.
• Dallas is tied for the second-highest number of games against 2023 playoff teams in the NFL, with a total of nine games.
• Five of the top 10 scoring defenses from last season will be faced by the Cowboys.

— NFL Research

What You Need To Know

1) Is this Dak Prescott‘s final year with the Cowboys? His deal expires in 2025, and Prescott can’t be franchise tagged next spring. His $55 million salary-cap hit also has hamstrung the Cowboys this offseason, with an “all in” offseason turning out to be a pretty quiet affair on the whole. Oh, and he’s also dealing with a minor foot sprain. That’s not to rip Prescott, who is coming off an MVP runner-up season and who has formed one of the best QB-WR combos with CeeDee Lamb, who’s also seeking a new contract. It’s merely a scene setter for where the Cowboys find themselves heading into camp: Good enough to compete, but as last year showed, it’s fair game to wonder if they have enough to win a ring. There’s also an interesting battle for QB2 honors, with Trey Lance and Cooper Rush battling. Dallas would love nothing more than for Lance to thrive in the preseason, winning the backup job and perhaps even giving them a possible option if Prescott is indeed entering his final year with the team. This camp is massive for Lance’s NFL future.

2) There’s also major turnover at running back, where Tony Pollard left for the Titans and Ezekiel Elliott returns as the nominal starter. Elliott had career-low production last season with the Patriots, yet probably wasn’t as bad as the numbers suggested. He turns 29 this month and is approaching 2,500 career touches — how much of the load can Zeke realistically be expected to carry? Rico Dowdle had some moments last season but suffered from irregular usage and enters the season with 113 NFL touches. Royce Freeman, Deuce Vaughn and Malik Davis are also wild-card options who could change the outlook of this group, but it’s hard to get overwhelmingly enthused about the unit right now. The Cowboys likely wouldn’t be afraid to add a veteran mid-camp or after cutdowns, but the best-case scenario would be for an in-house candidate to surprise — or turn back the clock.

3) There was significant change on the offensive line this offseason, with Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz walking in free agency and rookies Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe joining via the draft. Let’s start with the good: Tyler Smith and Zack Martin might comprise one of the better guard pairs in the league, and right tackle Terence Steele is probably better than he showed last season coming off injury. Guyton is also an immense talent, but is he capable of replacing Smith at a commensurate level? Beebe also has the look of a typical Dallas mauler, but he might be stuck in a battle with Brock Hoffman at center — a position Beebe has played sparingly in the past. The overall depth looks pretty promising, to the point where Dallas might have to keep 11 offensive linemen initially or risk losing players to waiver claims. But the cohesion of this unit — with multiple new starters — must be strong for a team with some possible offensive shortcomings.

4) Mike Zimmer is back to run the defense, and it will be fascinating to see if he can maintain the level of proficiency achieved by former coordinator Dan Quinn. The Cowboys weren’t quite the defense we expected last season, especially following the injury to cornerback Trevon Diggs, turning in some poor performances on that side of the ball down the stretch, namely against the Seahawks, Bills and in the playoff loss to the Packers. Quinn’s groups were highly reliant on forcing turnovers and almost exclusively unleashing Micah Parsons as a true rusher. I suspect Zimmer will do things a bit differently. The hope: Zimmer’s disciplined, no-nonsense approach helps clean up some of the sloppy run fits and busted coverages of the past few years. The fear: This type of scheme could take some of the teeth out of a big-play unit. Either way, the secondary looks pretty set, and Parsons leads a talented rush unit, so it would be disappointing if the NFL’s fifth-best scoring defense from last season took any major step backward.

5) How is the relationship between Mike McCarthy and Jerry Jones heading into this pivotal season and how much does that matter? Winning cures all, and the Cowboys have gone 36-15 the past three regular seasons. That has given McCarthy a chance to continue his quest in Dallas, but a 1-3 postseason mark (with two home losses) has undercut the head coach’s footing a bit. Hiring Brian Schottenheimer to help run the offense last year helped lead to top-five statistical marks, and McCarthy now has to hope that Zimmer has a similar effect on the defense. This might not be as talented a roster as Dallas had entering last season, and the pressure remains sky high as the futures of Prescott and McCarthy hang in the balance. Can the Cowboys make the Super Bowl run that has evaded them for 28 years? Or will this be a flashpoint season that leads to massive changes next offseason? That’s all that’s at stake heading into 2024.