Dallas Cowboys roster news: 13 players signed to reserve/future list

Offseason roster construction has begun for the Cowboys.

The dust is settling on the season for the Dallas Cowboys and so begin their preparations for 2022. Over the coming months the Cowboys will make a number of changes to their organization and will adjust the roster in a number of different ways. That process began on Tuesday morning as the team announced players that were signed to the reserve/future list.

• T Isaac Alarcon
• LB Devante Bond
• CB Kyron Brown
• TE Ian Bunting
• T Aviante Collins
• S Tyler Coyle
• QB Ben DiNucci
• WR Robert Foster
• RB JaQuan Hardy
• C Braylon Jones
• RB Nick Ralston
• WR Brandon Smith
• RB Ito Smith

We know that the Cowboys have the 24th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft at their disposal and that is of course just one resource for them to use as far as offseason construction goes. Dallas is notoriously shy when it comes to free agency so don’t hold your breath there, but perhaps this year will be slightly different.

Our friends at Behind The Steel Curtain give a brief explanation of a reserve/futures contract:

Enter the “Futures Contract.”

These contracts are interesting. Unlike a normal player contract, which takes effect the moment they are signed, futures contracts take effect on the first day of the new league year. This coincides with the day teams can expand their rosters to a new, 90-player max — the limit from day one of the league year until the first round of cuts during training camp.

Usually, futures contracts are used for young players. Technically, they can be used to sign anyone who was not on an active roster when the preceding regular season ended. The problem is, most savvy veterans are going to be on a roster, so you basically never hear of a highly talented player signing one of these contracts. Usually, teams will first target their own practice squad players they think could eventually contribute, because practice squads are dissolved when the league year ends. Signing those players to futures contracts ensures they will at least be under team control through the beginning of training camp, and not at risk of being snagged away by another team in need.