NFL Tidbits: How Some Former Cowboys Are Doing as the NFL Season Draws Near

Former Cowboys are littered throughout the NFL, and with the preseason drawing to a close, I thought it’d be fun to compile updates on a few of the guys.

We’ll take a bit of a deeper look after the preseason is finished at teams are down to their 53-man rosters (the final cut is Aug. 27), but here are a handful of things to keep an eye on.

Rudolph Battling for Titans Backup Duties

After six seasons in Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State’s all-time leading passer is in pastures new with the Tennessee Titans. With that said, he finds himself in a familiar position: in a battle for QB2 duties.

Will Levis will be the Titans’ starter. The franchise took him with the No. 33 pick in the 2023 draft before Levis completed 58% of his passes as a rookie for 1,808 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games.

Rudolph’s battle for backup duties is with Malik Willis. The Titans drafted Willis in the third round of the 2022 draft, but in his two seasons with the franchise, Willis has thrown just 66 passes in games, completing 53% of those for 350 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Rudolph and Willis have played in both of the Titans preseason games to this point. Here is a comparison of their numbers:

It would usually be tough sledding for a veteran newcomer to be compared to a player the franchise drafted just two years ago, but the Titans taking Levis just a year later likely showed their hand in how they feel about Willis.

“We’ll let this thing play out another week,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said. “This time next week we’ll be able to make a decision and determination on who the 2 will be, and what happens with the third spot, if we keep three or practice squad three, or we just go with two.”

Tennessee closes out its preseason slate with a game against the New Orleans Saints at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Tyron (Billy) Johnson Trying to Stick in Dallas

The Pistols Firing Podcast’s favorite player, Tyron Johnson (who now goes by Tyron Billy-Johnson) is attempting to find a long-term home in Dallas after a winding career that has seen him with stints with the Chargers, Jaguars, Raiders and Texas.

To this point in his career, Billy-Johnson has played in 26 games, catching 23 passes for 422 yards and three touchdowns. Most of that came in the 2020 season while with the Chargers.

Billy-Johnson was on the Cowboys’ practice squad last season before rejoining the team for camp, and he has been making plays out in Oxnard.

Tyron Billy-Johnson pic.twitter.com/575OnKp6Pg

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 28, 2024

“The number one thing that jumps off the film is the speed man, this guy can just freaking fly,” Dallas offensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer said. “But he’s becoming a hell of a route runner, he’s filling in in a lot of different roles which he hasn’t done, but shoot he makes two or three plays every day that you’re just like damn, you get excited for him. He loves it, the energy at practice, he loves football, he just loves to be out there on the grass and loves to compete and have fun.”

Billy-Johnson didn’t have a catch in Dallas’ preseason opener against the Rams, but he made an impact on special teams, which could help him land on a roster. In that game, Billy-Johnson returned two kicks for 70 yards.

Dallas then played the Raiders last weekend, where Billy-Johnson was targeted once but didn’t record a catch. He was again a contributor in the return game, however, with two kick returns for 45 yards and a 4-yard punt return.

Dallas closes its preseason with a game against the Chargers at 3 p.m. Saturday.

On most of the 53-man projections I could track down for the Cowboys, Billy-Johnson was on the outside looking in, but hopefully his strong camp leads to another team reaching out or at worst another year making a living on a practice squad.

Tyron Billy-Johnson is this years “that dudes got something” WR in Cowboys camp

— Jeff Cavanaugh (@timeforjeffrey) July 30, 2024

Warren Suffers Hamstring Injury

Among skill position players, there might not be a former Cowboy as important to his team right now than Jaylen Warren. Unfortunately for the speedy bowling ball, he suffered a hamstring injury Saturday that could see him miss the start of the Steelers’ season.

In a two-headed backfield alongside Najee Harris last season, Warren ran for 784 yards and four touchdowns.

Falcons Release James Washington

James Washington suffered a setback whilst trying to make his NFL comeback this week.

The Falcons on Monday announced they released Washington. He last played sparingly during the 2022 season with the Cowboys but is most known for four-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he caught 114 passes for 1,629 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Washington didn’t have a catch in three targets during Atlanta’s first two preseason games.

Wallace Impressing Entering Year 4

We’ll finish with some more positive news about a former OSU receiver playing for a team with a bird mascot.

Tylan Wallace seems to be taking a solid step into Year 4 of his NFL career. He made two catches for 26 yards in Baltimore’s preseason opener against Philadelphia, but perhaps his best play thus far this preseason came in practice, where he caught a ball from Lamar Jackson between two defensive backs. The DBs flew off him, and Wallace landed on his feet before turning and hopping into the end zone.

go OFF @OfficialTylan2 pic.twitter.com/3IrpabbNZU

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 1, 2024