Dallas Cowboys training camp: What to watch heading into franchise’s season on the brink

The Dallas Cowboys’ 2024 training camp edition begins with their first practice on Thursday as the franchise begins what will now be known as the season on the brink.

Head coach Mike McCarthy and the entire coaching staff are working on one-year contracts with no guarantees beyond this season.

Quarterback Dak Prescott, holdout receiver CeeDee Lamb and more than 20 players are also in the final year of their contract.

The reality is the Cowboys could look completely different in 2025 if they don’t find away to not only make the playoffs for a fourth straight season under McCarthy, but also to make a deep run in the playoffs for the first time since the team’s last Super Bowl title in 1996.

What happens in training camp and the preseason over the next five weeks will go a long toward determining their fate.

Here is a check list of what to watch in camp:

Three top story lines

1. CeeDee Lamb hold out

Previously holdouts by running back Ezekiel Elliott lasted 40 and 21 days, respectively. How long will it take for the Cowboys and Lamb to come to an agreement? What we know is the pass offense is null and void without Lamb.

2. Dak Prescott contract

Getting Lamb signed to a new deal is the priority because he is not in camp. But the Cowboys also want to do a deal with Prescott. But he has all the leverage. He will get $55 to $60 million from the Cowboys this summer or another team in free agency next spring.

3. Return of Trevon Diggs

No one in the NFL has intercepted more passes over the last four seasons than Trevon Diggs and he missed much of 2023 with a torn ACL. Now healthy, will he return to his ball-hawking mode in 2024?

Three top camp battles

1. Backup quarterback between Cooper Rush and Trey Lance

The Cowboys know what they have in Rush. He is 5-1 as a starter in place of Dak Prescott. This camp and preseason is all about finding what they have in Lance. Lance will get the bulk of reps in practice in the preseason to see if he can be the backup in 2025, if not 2024.

2. Center between Brock Hoffman and Cooper Beebe

Hoffman is the veteran career backup who is not going to give up his first chance at a starting opportunity without a fight. But the Cowboys didn’t draft Beebe in the third round for him to sit. He is the biggest nastiest center the team has had since Andre Gurode. How long will it take him to develop from a college guard to center?

3. Third receiver between Jalen Tolbert, Jalen Brooks and KaVonte Turpin

It’s now or never for Tolbert, a disappointing 2022 third-round pick in his third season. This should be his job to lose. But Brooks and Turpin are not going to make it easy for him. Brooks looked far better as a rookie last year than Tolbert in his first year. And the speedy Turpin is a big-play waiting to happen.

Three biggest concerns

1. Ezekiel Elliott and running back

Elliott was the team’s biggest offseason addition. And he is a shell of his former self. He will lead a running back by committee that includes Royce Free and Rico Dowdle. The unit is ranked last in the NFL going into camp. Elliott will help them be better in the red zone. But between the 20s is a concern. There is no big play back on the roster.

2. Mazi Smith and defensive tackle

Similar to running back, the Cowboys might have worst ranked defensive tackle position in the league. There is not Pro Bowler in the bunch and its filled with unproven performers, led by disappointing 2023 top pick Mazi Smith at nose tackle. Smith must improve for this defense to hold up against the run. He needs to flash in camp.

3. Tyler Guyton at left tackle

Guyton, a first-round pick out of Oklahoma, has the pressure of replacing future hall of famer Tyron Smith as Prescott’s blindside protector. Guyton is making the move right tackle in college to left tackle in the league. He has talent and athleticism. But there will be growing pains.