The 2017 season was the Dallas Cowboys' 58th in the National Football League (NFL), their 29th under the ownership of Jerry Jones, their 9th playing their home games at AT&T Stadium, and their 7th full season under head coach Jason Garrett.
For the first time since 2002, quarterback Tony Romo was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement on April 4, 2017. The Cowboys also failed to improve or match upon their 13–3 record from the previous season. In Week 16 via a loss at home to the Seattle Seahawks, they were eliminated from playoff contention and missed the playoffs, for the sixth time in the last eight seasons.
Offseason
Signings Position Player Age 2016 Team Contract WR Terrance Williams 27 Dallas Cowboys 4 years, $17 million CB Nolan Carroll(†) 30 Philadelphia Eagles 3 years, $10 million OG Byron Bell 28 Tennessee Titans 1 year, $2 million DT Stephen Paea(††) 28 Cleveland Browns 1 year, $2 million DE Damontre Moore(†) 24 Seattle Seahawks 2 years, $1.6 million RB Darren McFadden(††) 29 Dallas Cowboys 1 year, $980,000 OG Jonathan Cooper 27 Cleveland Browns 1 year, $2 million LB Justin Durant (†) 31 Dallas Cowboys 1 year, $615,000 QB Kellen Moore 27 Dallas Cowboys 1 year, $775,000
(†) - Later released (††) - Later retired
Departures Position Player Age 2017 Team QB Tony Romo 37 Retired QB Mark Sanchez 30 Chicago Bears RB Lance Dunbar 27 Los Angeles Rams WR Lucky Whitehead 25 New York Jets TE Gavin Escobar 26 Baltimore Ravens OG Ronald Leary 27 Denver Broncos OG/OT Emmett Cleary 27 Detroit Lions OT Doug Free 33 Retired DE Ryan Davis 28 Buffalo Bills DT Jack Crawford 28 Atlanta Falcons DT Terrell McClain 28 Washington Redskins LB Rolando McClain 27 Unsigned LB Andrew Gachkar 28 Carolina Panthers CB Josh Thomas 27 Unsigned CB Brandon Carr 30 Baltimore Ravens CB Morris Claiborne 27 New York Jets SS Barry Church 29 Jacksonville Jaguars FS J.J. Wilcox 26 Pittsburgh Steelers
Draft
Notes The Cowboys traded their original fifth-round (No. 171 overall) selection to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a seventh-round (No. 228 overall) selection and quarterback Matt Cassell. The Cowboys traded their 2018 fifth-round selection to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2017 sixth-round (No. 191 overall) selection. The Cowboys traded their original sixth-round (No. 211 overall) selection to the New England Patriots in exchange for sixth (No. 216 overall) and seventh-round (No. 239 overall) selections.
Undrafted free agents Name Position College Woody Baron Defensive end Virginia Tech Kennan Gilchrist Linebacker Appalachian State Blake Jarwin Tight end Oklahoma State Joseph Jones Linebacker Northwestern Lance Lenoir Wide receiver Western Illinois Lewis Neal Defensive tackle LSU Cooper Rush Quarterback Central Michigan Dan Skipper Tackle Arkansas Lucas Wacha Linebacker Wyoming
Staff
Rosters
Opening preseason roster Dallas Cowboys 2017 opening preseason roster Quarterbacks Luke McCown Kellen Moore Dak Prescott Cooper Rush
Running backs Ezekiel Elliott Ronnie Hillman Darren McFadden Alfred Morris Keith Smith FB Rod Smith RB/FB
Wide receivers Cole Beasley Brian Brown Noah Brown Dez Bryant Brice Butler Javontee Herndon Andy Jones Lance Lenoir Uzoma Nwachukwu Ryan Switzer Terrance Williams
Tight ends Rico Gathers Connor Hamlett James Hanna Blake Jarwin Geoff Swaim Jason Witten Offensive linemen Byron Bell T/G Ross Burbank C Ruben Carter G/C Emmett Cleary T/G La'el Collins T/G Jonathan Cooper G/C Clay DeBord T/G Kadeem Edwards T/G Travis Frederick C Chaz Green G/T Joe Looney C/G Zack Martin G Dan Skipper T/G Tyron Smith T Nate Theaker G
Defensive linemen Richard Ash DT/DE Woody Baron DE/DT Jordan Carrell DT Taco Charlton DE Maliek Collins DT Tyrone Crawford DE/DT David Irving DT/DE Joey Ivie DT Lenny Jones DE DeMarcus Lawrence DE Benson Mayowa DE Damontre Moore DE Lewis Neal DE/DT Stephen Paea DT Charles Tapper DE Cedric Thornton DTLinebackers Kennan Gilchrist OLB Anthony Hitchens MLB Joseph Jones MLB/OLB Sean Lee OLB Darnell Leslie OLB John Lotulelei MLB/OLB Mark Nzeocha MLB/OLB Jaylon Smith MLB Lucas Wacha OLB Kyle Wilber OLB/MLB Damien Wilson OLB/MLB
Defensive backs Chidobe Awuzie CB/FS Robert Blanton SS Anthony Brown CB Nolan Carroll CB Kavon Frazier SS Jeff Heath SS/FS Byron Jones FS Jourdan Lewis CB Leon McFadden CB Orlando Scandrick CB Sammy Seamster CB Jameill Showers FS/SS Duke Thomas CB Marquez White CB Xavier Woods FS/SS
Special teams Dan Bailey K Sam Irwin-Hill P/K Chris Jones P L. P. Ladouceur LS Zach Wood LS Reserve lists Justin Durant MLB/OLB Zac Dysert QB Randy Gregory DE Jahad Thomas RB
Week one roster Dallas Cowboys 2017 week one roster Quarterbacks Kellen Moore Dak Prescott Cooper Rush
Running backs Ezekiel Elliott Darren McFadden Alfred Morris Keith Smith FB Rod Smith RB/FB
Wide receivers Cole Beasley Noah Brown Dez Bryant Brice Butler Ryan Switzer Terrance Williams
Tight ends James Hanna Geoff Swaim Jason Witten Offensive linemen Byron Bell T/G La'el Collins T/G Jonathan Cooper G/C Travis Frederick C Chaz Green G/T Joe Looney C/G Zack Martin G Tyron Smith T
Defensive linemen Taco Charlton DE Maliek Collins DT Tyrone Crawford DE/DT DeMarcus Lawrence DE Benson Mayowa DE Stephen Paea DT Brian Price DT Charles Tapper DELinebackers Justin Durant MLB/OLB Jayrone Elliott OLB Anthony Hitchens MLB Sean Lee OLB Jaylon Smith MLB Kyle Wilber OLB/MLB Damien Wilson OLB/MLB
Defensive backs Chidobe Awuzie CB/FS Bené Benwikere CB Anthony Brown CB Nolan Carroll CB Kavon Frazier SS Jeff Heath SS/FS Byron Jones FS Jourdan Lewis CB Orlando Scandrick CB Xavier Woods FS/SS
Special teams Dan Bailey K Chris Jones P L. P. Ladouceur LS Reserve lists Zac Dysert QB Rico Gathers TE Randy Gregory DE David Irving DT/DE Damontre Moore DE Duke Thomas CB
Practice Squad Richard Ash DT/DE Kadeem Edwards T/G Blake Jarwin TE Lance Lenoir WR Lewis Neal DT/DE Mark Nzeocha MLB/OLB Jameill Showers FS/SS Dan Skipper T/G Nate Theaker G Marquez White CB
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap HOF vs. Arizona Cardinals W 20–18 1–0 Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Recap 1 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–13 1–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap 2 Indianapolis Colts W 24–19 2–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 3 Oakland Raiders W 24–20 3–1 AT&T Stadium Recap 4 at Houston Texans Cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey †
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 September 10 New York Giants W 19–3 1–0 AT&T Stadium Recap 2 September 17 at Denver Broncos L 17–42 1–1 Sports Authority Field at Mile High Recap 3 at Arizona Cardinals W 28–17 2–1 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 4 October 1 Los Angeles Rams L 30–35 2–2 AT&T Stadium Recap 5 October 8 Green Bay Packers L 31–35 2–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 6 Bye 7 October 22 at San Francisco 49ers W 40–10 3–3 Levi's Stadium Recap 8 October 29 at Washington Redskins W 33–19 4–3 FedExField Recap 9 November 5 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–17 5–3 AT&T Stadium Recap 10 November 12 at Atlanta Falcons L 7–27 5–4 Mercedes-Benz Stadium Recap 11 November 19 Philadelphia Eagles L 9–37 5–5 AT&T Stadium Recap 12 November 23 Los Angeles Chargers L 6–28 5–6 AT&T Stadium Recap 13 Washington Redskins W 38–14 6–6 AT&T Stadium Recap 14 December 10 at New York Giants W 30–10 7–6 MetLife Stadium Recap 15 December 17 at Oakland Raiders W 20–17 8–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 16 December 24 Seattle Seahawks L 12–21 8–7 AT&T Stadium Recap 17 December 31 at Philadelphia Eagles W 6–0 9–7 Lincoln Financial Field Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: vs. New York Giants
Dallas opened its third straight season at home against NFC East division rival New York. Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. sat out the game still nursing a preseason injury. Dallas' solid and workmanlike performance was punctuated early in the fourth quarter when Cole Beasley made a spectacular one-handed circus catch for a key first down. Dallas tight end Jason Witten surpassed Michael Irvin as the all-time receiving-yards leader in franchise history and also scored the lone touchdown of the game on a second-quarter 12-yard pass from quarterback Dak Prescott, who had some passes sail high early but settled down to turn in another solid and turnover-free performance. The Dallas win snapped its three-game losing streak against New York.
Week 2: at Denver Broncos
In a stunning reversal of the previous week's performance, the Dallas Cowboys struggled in almost every aspect of the game, getting blown out by an inspired Denver Broncos team in Denver. The Broncos defense stuffed the Dallas run game and pressured quarterback Dak Prescott, who threw two interceptions – one returned late in the game for a pick-six. Defensively Dallas had no answers for the Broncos attack, plagued with poor tackling and bad pursuit angles, giving up yards after pass catches and rushing yards in chunks. Dallas fell to 1–1, looking to be in total disarray – nursing several key injuries to its secondary – heading into its Monday night meeting at Arizona against the Cardinals.
Week 3: at Arizona Cardinals
After a precarious start which saw Arizona take its opening possession straight down the field for a touchdown, and then Dallas following up with a prompt three-and-out, the Dallas Cowboys adjusted their defensive schemes and got their running game going and slowly but surely overcame the Cardinals on Monday Night Football.
Despite Carson Palmer's 325 yards passing, Dallas was able to limit scoring damage with key pressures and sacks, and run stoppages to keep the Cardinals neutralized. Dak Prescott turned in a turnover-free performance for the Cowboys with 183 yards passing and two touchdown tosses, while running for Dallas' first score – a second quarter 10-yard scamper on a read-option play. Ezekiel Elliott rebounded from last week's dismal performance to accumulate 80 yards on 22 carries and scored one touchdown. Dallas found itself with a 2–1 record heading into a short week to prepare for the visiting Los Angeles Rams October 1.
Week 4: vs. Los Angeles Rams
The "tale of two halves" sports cliché was never more true to life as it was Sunday October 1 in AT&T Stadium, as the Dallas Cowboys lost to the visiting Los Angeles Rams 35–30 after dominating the first half of play.
Dallas was in the driver's seat and looked ready to demolish the young Rams and their rookie head coach after a workmanlike, dominating first half that saw Dallas post three touchdowns after long-distance drives and hold a 24–16 halftime lead.
The second half saw Dallas' offense virtually grind to a halt while Los Angeles slowly chipped away at the lead, finally finding themselves ahead to stay after Todd Gurley's 53-yard catch-and-run put Los Angeles up 26–24 late in the third quarter. After Dallas posted a 4th-quarter touchdown on a pass to tight end James Hanna, Los Angeles was able to answer with its 7th field goal of the game. With the score 35–30, a late Dallas rally failed, and the Cowboys found themselves 2–2 with a looming meeting at home versus the Green Bay Packers October 8.
Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers