Relaxed Mike McCarthy has jokes about Cowboys patchwork roster

A few wins in the second half of the season has Mike McCarthy making jokes about the Dallas Cowboys roster.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy walks off the field after the game at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

It wasn’t that long ago that Mike McCarthy appeared to have one foot out the door. The Dallas Cowboys were just 3-7 and nothing was going right for them.

Things have changed over the past four weeks with Dallas going 3-1, and it could have been 4-0 if not for a special teams blunder in Week 14. Now at 6-8, they’re not a threat to make the playoffs but they’re proving they have a lot of fight left in them.

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That’s a win for McCarthy, who is suddenly favored to return in 2025. That renewed hope for him has led to a more relaxed approach during press conferences. That was on display when he cracked a joke about the fact that they’re leaning on so many undrafted free agents right now.

Mike McCarthy joking about the number of undrafted players participating this season: “We’ve been kicking ass in the eighth round.” pic.twitter.com/vTfbWhT8EB

— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) December 16, 2024

All jokes aside, the Cowboys have done well with undrafted free agents for quite some time. While they haven’t found another Tony Romo, they were led to victory by Cooper Rush and Rico Dowdle, who were both undrafted.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush (10) fakes the hand off to running back Rico Dowdle (23) in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Rush had three touchdown passes in the victory while Dowdle topped 100 yards for the third week in a row.

Throw in the fact that they were starting Terence Steele, T.J. Bass, and Brock Hoffman on the line and their UDFA moves look even better. They even had Brandon Aubrey trying a record 70-yard field goal attempt — although that didn’t come close.

Dallas has been given a lot of credit for their work in the draft but as McCarthy pointed out, they’ve been just as strong after Round 7 ends.

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