The Cowboys have been making moves in their locker room as they prepare for the wild card round clash against Tampa Bay. Among them, that of releasing Dakoda Shepley from the roster, where the objective was to place him in the practice squad. However, the plans did not go as expected for the Cowboys. So the backup offensive lineman will no longer be a part of the Cowboys.
Since the Colts, who are one of the franchises that has been eliminated from the competition, claimed the player before the deadline that the Cowboys had to re-sign him in the squad. Therefore, now the organization is in a dilemma as they might need a backup at the center position. And now they don’t have it thanks to all these operations.
An unfortunate development for the Cowboys. They waived G/C Dakoda Shepley on Monday after signing him Saturday to 53-man roster. Today, the Colts claimed him off waivers, a move that effectively ends Shepley’s season. Dallas loses interior O-line depth for playoffs.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 10, 2023
Shepley’s history with the Cowboys, brief as it was, has drawn widespread attention. He would end up signing up for the cowboy practice squad on September 1st. Since the day before, he was part of the Seattle Seahawks roster cuts. He would end up being promoted to the active roster on January 7, 2023, one day before the Week 18 game against the Commanders. All this due to Tyler Biadasz’s injury against the Titans, the coaching staff decided to raise Dakoda in case of any other eventuality.
The offensive lineman had already been raised three more times, but only for specific games. Namely, against the Bears in week 8, the Packers in week 10 and Minnesota in week 11. In the vast majority of these he participated only on special teams. Against the Vikings and Commanders, however, he would see some offensive snaps. In all, he would see 14 snaps on offense and 16 with special teams.
It’s certainly one of those situations that is misunderstood by some NFL organizations. The Colts were eliminated and now they have been left with a player who not only will not have access to the playoffs, but also will not have the pay corresponding to the new stage of the competition. Consequently, Dakoda will not see action again until Indianapolis’ spring training schedule.
Colts are developing their 90-man roster for 2023. Certainly cannot fault them for claiming C/G Dakoda Shepley. But that is a nonetheless difficult, sudden way for a player’s season to end. Can no longer prep for Tampa with teammates. Also loses playoff earnings.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 10, 2023
As for the lone star team, the operation is also a very heavy blow to the backing of the offensive line. As already mentioned, center Tyler Biadasz hurt his ankle in Week 17 against the Titans and is still a doubt for the wild-card round game against the Bucs. Likewise, Matt Farniok barely returned to training last week and we will have to wait and see if he can activate. And going back to the practice squad, Brock Hoffman and Alec Lindstrom are still options. Only in the case of the latter, it would also have to be activated again because he has missed several weeks with back ailments.
Certainly, this is a very significant drop from the point of view of endorsements. After all, injuries do happen and it’s good for teams to have positional depth in any emergency. Now we will have to wait and see what the reaction of the Vaqueros coaching staff will be and what will be the elements that have to step forward if, for example, Tyler Biadasz cannot jump onto the field of play. The team is fine with Connor McGovern at center, but it doesn’t hurt to have other backup athletes. Meanwhile, we will have to wait for the results of this week’s practices before the game against the Bucs.
