The Cowboys have two defensive captains this season, and both were acquired by trading Micah Parsons. Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams are the Cowboys’ defensive captains. A year ago, the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Packers for Clark and two first-round picks, and later they traded one of those picks to the Jets for Williams. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer singled out Williams as a leader who has meant a lot to the team. “From the minute he got here, he’s been about one thing, and it’s winning,” Schottenheimer said of Williams. “He’s never won in the NFL and the leadership is real, the talent is incredible, but every decision that guy makes is based on what’s best for us winning. I love that about him, and it’s infectious. It rubs off. I love hearing him talk to the young linemen, the young defenders.” Unsurprisingly, quarterback Dak Prescott is the offensive captain and kicker Brandon Aubrey is the special teams captain. Schottenheimer said the players voted on the captains, and those four players were overwhelmingly the top vote getters. “All player voting, and that’s what I think makes it such an awesome, incredible designation, that you get voted on by the players, your peers, your brothers,” Schottenheimer said. “Those guys were clearly the four highest, and that spoke volumes to me when I looked at the numbers.”
The Cowboys wanted Joe Milton back on the practice squad, and on Wednesday, they made that happen. The team announced it has signed the quarterback. He will serve as the third quarterback behind Dak Prescott and Sam Howell, who are on the 53-player roster. Howell beat out Milton for the backup job to Prescott. Milton served as the No. 2 last season. In three preseason games, Milton completed 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He added 12 carries for 14 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick to New England for Milton in the 2025 offseason, and he served as Prescott’s backup last season
Until 2024, trying to predict NFL Comeback Player of the Year was a total crapshoot because there really were no criteria for those Associated Press voters. But starting with that '24 season, the criteria was changed to give the award to a player who returned from "illness, physical injury, or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season." So, long story short, it could no longer go to a guy who was just terrible one year (if healthy) and good the next. I took a look Monday at updated NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year betting trends from BetMGM and today will do the same for Comeback Player of the Year with the season kicking off one week from tonight. Much like for NFL MVP, CPOY has become a quarterback award, with a signal-caller having won seven straight seasons until that run ended in 2025 with 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey taking it home. Sign up to wager on NFL using the BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets: Fans can stay up to date with information from our NFL news page, and bettors should also look for picks from the SportsLine Projection Model and our experts during the 2026 NFL season. McCaffrey was the first tailback winner since the Cardinals ' Garrison Hearst in 2001. Hard to argue against McCaffrey, though. He was limited to just four games in 2024 but played all 17 last year and totaled better than 2,100 yards from scrimmage and 17 TDs. Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson was second in the 2025 voting and Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott third. Two players have won this award twice in quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Joe Burrow , but needless to say McCaffrey won't be winning again this year. He isn't even a betting option at BetMGM. Nor should he be. But San Francisco has three Pro Bowl-caliber players returning from major 2025 injuries who are close to the top of the board in pass-rusher Nick Bosa (+2000), linebacker Fred Warner (+3000) and tight end George Kittle (+3000). Running backs have never won this in back-to-back years and the one with the shortest odds is the Giants ' back-flipping Cam Skattebo at +3500. A defensive player hasn't won since Chiefs safety Eric Berry in 2015, and newly unretired Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is a +800 fourth-favorite. Considering the future Hall of Famer hasn't played since 2023, he'd be my choice as it would be a story right out of Hollywood. Wager on the NFL with the latest FanDuel promo code and get up to $350 in bonus bets: But the favorites are three quarterbacks: Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (+185), Washington's Jayden Daniels (+400) and Minnesota's Kyler Murray (+550). The book is quite exposed on Mahomes, as he leads in handle (46.2%) and tickets sold (18.1%) on this prop. Comeback Player of the Year is about the only thing Mahomes hasn't won yet in the NFL, but he "somewhat" qualifies coming off a torn ACL and LCL that limited him to 14 games last year. He will be ready for the season opener vs. Denver. Since he was cleared in late July to participate in all football activities, Mahomes has not missed any practices but didn't play in the preseason. If you were wondering, Tom Brady won Comeback Player of the Year in 2009 after suffering a major knee injury of his own in the 2008 opener and missing the rest of that season. So the obvious GOAT parallels are there, but Brady missed basically a full campaign , while Mahomes missed three games. Berry has been Kansas City's only winner since this award returned in 1998. Murray is second in tickets (12.0%) and handle (9.7%) at BetMGM, and he has the double-whammy of coming back from injury and starting over with a new team, as Murray has won the Vikings ' starting job over former first round pick J.J. McCarthy . Murray probably has more offensive talent around him than Mahomes does. Bet futures and more NFL picks at DraftKings, where new users get $200 in bonus bets after they spend $5+: The player the book is most exposed on is another ve
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The Cowboys waived QB Joe Milton hoping to sign him back to the practice squad after naming Sam Howell the backup to Dak Prescott. Coach Brian Schottenheimer and EVP Stephen Jones expressed a desire for Milton to return as the third quarterback, provided he clears waivers. Milton had a strong preseason, completing 29 of 43 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, adding a rushing touchdown
More than one‑third of starting QBs missed the entire preseason, with teams ranging from the Chiefs to the Saints keeping their starters on the sidelines
Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remain in contract negotiations, with Mayfield reportedly seeking a longer commitment than the two-year extension offered. Key sticking points include the total value and guarantees in the proposed deal, as well as the length of the contract. Mayfield is currently in the final year of his contract and is seeking a deal that aligns with the current market for veteran quarterbacks
