The Dallas Cowboys are moving on from a veteran wide receiver.
As noted by The Athletic’s Jon Machota, the Cowboys are releasing 28-year-old Tyron Billy-Johnson in their early roster cuts before cut day on August 27. Billy-Johnson is one of 15 early roster cuts – including one of four receivers – as Dallas looks to cut their roster down to 53 players. The other receivers released are David Durden, Deontay Burnett and Cam Johnson.
The 6-foot-1 Billy-Johnson initially entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019. After latching on with a number of teams – without appearing in a game – during the 2019 season, he eventually made his debut with the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2020 season. Billy-Johnson quickly made an impact upon his debut, catching a 53-yard touchdown pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He finished his rookie campaign with 20 receptions for 398 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 12 appearances. He actually saw 31% of the offensive snaps in games he appeared in.
While Billy-Johnson hasn’t had the impact in the receiving department the way that he did during his rookie season, he has since appeared in 14 more games in stints with teams such as the Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, seeing mostly special teams snaps.
Although the sixth-year wide receiver has just three receptions for 24 receiving yards over the past three seasons, he had been considered a potential candidate for the 53-man roster due to his experience and because of Dallas’ lack of proven depth at the position.
Tyron Billy-Johnson Had Seen First-Team Snaps Early in Training Camp
Due to CeeDee Lamb’s holdout, Billy-Johnson was actually seeing first-team reps in the early days of training camp, as noted by Randy Gurzi of Sports Illustrated.
“He also got to work with the first team and earned the trust of Dak Prescott, who hit him deep at one point with Nahshon Wright and Donovan Wilson in coverage,” writes Gurzi.
Billy-Johnson’s speed is something that makes him stand out and could have been utilized in an offense that is lacking deep-ball threats. Lamb is leaned on as the primary receiver, Brandin Cooks has become more of a possession wideout as his career has progressed while tight end Jason Ferguson is more of a short-yardage, safety blanket option.
“His speed is outrageous,” Locked on Cowboys co-host Landon McCool said. “He is so ridiculously fast. He ran a 4.36 at his NFL pro day and I am telling you, that’s not even close to how fast he plays. That’s why, despite barely having any production in the NFL and college, he continues to get shots.”
Cowboys Likely to Make More Wide Receiver Cuts to Trim Down to 90 Players
During his collegiate career, Billy-Johnson played at LSU before transferring to Oklahoma State. He started every game during his final season in 2018 while posting a career-high 53 receptions for 845 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
With the Cowboys trimming four receivers from their preseason roster, Dallas now has nine receivers left on their roster. Considering the Cowboys will likely enter the season with five or six receivers, they’ll have to cut a few more wideouts as they trim their roster to 53 players before the season starts.
