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ROSTER CUT: Cowboys Release Former Second-Round Pick Denzel Mims After Quiet Preseason
The Dallas Cowboys have begun clearing space in one of the deepest position groups on their roster, informing veteran wide receiver Denzel Mims that he will be released before Sunday’s 53-man deadline. ESPN’s Todd Archer first reported the decision, and NFL.com subsequently included Mims among Dallas’ confirmed roster cuts from Saturday, turning what had looked like an uphill roster battle into the end of his brief Cowboys stay. The move comes only two days after Dallas completed the preseason with a 27-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium.
Mims joined Dallas in June after attempting to rebuild his professional career in the United Football League, but he never generated enough momentum during training camp to seriously threaten the receivers ahead of him. The Cowboys signed the 6-foot-3 veteran on June 18 after he spent the spring with the Dallas Renegades, where he caught six passes for 55 yards across five UFL games. Dallas was taking a low-risk look at a former second-round NFL draft pick with size and prior starting experience, but the opportunity ultimately lasted little more than two months.
Mims’ preseason production made the final decision relatively straightforward compared with several of the much closer receiver battles on Brian Schottenheimer’s roster. Heavy reports that he finished the three-game exhibition schedule with only one reception for minus-one yard, failing to provide the explosive play that might have forced Dallas to reconsider the numbers at the bottom of the position group. On a roster where multiple younger receivers repeatedly generated chunk plays, touchdowns and special-teams value, Mims simply never created the same argument.
His release becomes even easier to understand when compared with the summer produced by undrafted rookie Jordan Hudson. Hudson finished the preseason with eight receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown, then delivered his best performance in the finale against New Orleans with several difficult catches downfield while fighting for either an active-roster spot or practice-squad consideration. Dallas’ own website described Hudson as one of the players who stood out most in the final game, illustrating how dramatically the younger receiver moved ahead of veterans such as Mims during August.
Camden Brown also gave the Cowboys far more to think about after arriving as an undrafted rookie from Georgia Southern. Heavy credited Brown with four preseason catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns, while earlier Dallas coverage repeatedly identified him as one of the biggest surprises of camp because of his size, contested-catch ability and willingness to contribute on special teams. His emergence helped turn the bottom of the receiver room into a competition where simply possessing NFL experience was no longer enough to survive.
Jonathan Mingo and Marquez Valdes-Scantling added additional pressure because both entered the roster fight with advantages Mims could not overcome. Heavy lists Mingo with four preseason receptions for 82 yards and Valdes-Scantling with three catches for 45 yards, while Dallas has also emphasized Mingo’s value in the return game and on coverage units when discussing the final receiver spots. Special teams have been a major consideration for the Cowboys after last season’s struggles, making a veteran receiver without a clear kicking-game role especially vulnerable.
The top of the depth chart was already essentially closed before Mims arrived, leaving him very little margin for a quiet preseason. CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy and KaVontae Turpin give Dallas an established core with receiving ability, explosiveness and defined roles, while Tyler Johnson and several younger players spent August competing behind them. The real battle was always going to involve the fifth, sixth and possible seventh options, and Mims never separated himself enough to justify keeping him over players with more recent production or developmental upside.
Mims’ NFL pedigree initially made him an intriguing addition because the New York Jets selected him with the 59th overall pick in the second round of the 2020 draft. Across three seasons in New York, he appeared in 30 games with 15 starts and caught 42 passes for 676 yards, averaging an impressive 16.1 yards per reception but never scoring a regular-season touchdown. His career-long reception covered 63 yards, demonstrating the downfield ability that once convinced scouts he could become a dangerous perimeter target in the NFL.
The problem is that Mims has not appeared in an NFL regular-season game since the 2022 season despite receiving opportunities from several organizations. New York traded him to Detroit in 2023, and he later spent time with Pittsburgh and Jacksonville without appearing in another regular-season contest before moving to spring football. His 2026 Cowboys opportunity therefore represented a genuine comeback attempt rather than the continuation of an established NFL role, and Dallas ultimately did not see enough during camp to extend that comeback into September.
The UFL had provided Mims with another route back after he spent the 2025 season with the St. Louis Battlehawks and then joined the Dallas Renegades for 2026. His six catches for 55 yards with the Renegades were modest, but they were enough to help earn an NFL workout and eventually a contract with the Cowboys during the final phase of the offseason program. The Renegades retain his UFL rights if he chooses to return to spring football, giving Mims one possible path forward if another NFL team does not offer him an immediate opportunity.
Dallas’ decision also arrives during an unusually active final weekend in which the front office has shown it is willing to reshape the roster rather than simply reward the players who spent all summer in camp. The Cowboys have agreed to acquire former Steelers first-round offensive tackle Broderick Jones, while linebacker Marist Liufau’s fractured forearm has created another complicated injured-reserve decision and Schottenheimer has acknowledged that the personnel department is examining potential additions from around the league. Mims’ release therefore creates one more roster spot while Dallas continues balancing its own bubble players against outside opportunities becoming available across the NFL.
The Cowboys must reach the 53-player limit by Sunday, August 30 at 5:00 PM CDT, and the receiver decisions are still far from complete even after removing Mims. Hudson, Brown, Mingo, Valdes-Scantling and other competitors remain part of a numbers game that may depend as much on special teams, waiver risk and roster needs elsewhere as pure receiving statistics. Cutting Mims simply removes the clearest outsider from that discussion while leaving Schottenheimer and the front office with several much more difficult calls.
For Mims, the move is another setback in a career that once began with the expectations attached to a second-round selection, but his professional story does not necessarily end here. He is only 28, has 30 regular-season NFL appearances and remains a physically impressive 6-foot-3 receiver with experience in multiple offensive systems, qualities that could earn him another workout once injuries begin affecting receiver rooms around the league. Dallas simply reached the conclusion that its younger options had done more with their preseason opportunities, and after one catch for minus-one yard, Mims became one of the first recognizable names sacrificed as the Cowboys turn their attention from August auditions to the Week 1 roster.
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