The Cowboys will have a lot of position battles in Oxnard, but one might stand above them all.
The Dallas Cowboys will have ample roster battles in the coming months under Brian Schottenheimer.
But there is one that sticks out, to me anyway, as one that could be the most interesting of all. And that's at quarterback.
No, not Dak Prescott, before those pitchforks get sharpened. Put 'em down.
But behind Dak.
And you might think, well, it is Joe Milton behind Prescott for 2026, and a couple of weeks ago, you would be right in thinking that.
Now? Not so much.
Sam Howell was signed in free agency, and he comes to The Star ready to push Milton for the backup role.
As our own Mike Fisher explains, the move to sign Howell says more about what the Cowboys think of Joe, rather than what it says about Sam.
"Dak Prescott, Joe Milton, Sam Howell, in that order for now,” Fish said on Dallas' quarterback depth chart. “We know that the Cowboys have a high opinion of Joe Milton's athletic ability. But their opinion isn't so high of Joe Milton that they just said, we'll just keep Joe Milton and Will Grier.
"Their opinion on Joe Milton is let's go get Sam Howell, who was a young hotshot prospect himself not that long ago, and has more skins on the wall. We're going to see a summer competition between Joe Milton and Sam Howell.”
Milton, since he came to Dallas, hasn't had any real competition for his job.
Yes, Grier was on the roster, but we all know he was never beating Joe out, simply because of Milton's potential and his rocket of a right arm.
But Howell? That's a different conversation.
He's been a starter in the league (18), and at one stage, the Washington Commanders thought he might be "the" guy.
Howell has since bounced around the league with the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Now he comes to Dallas ready to reshape the quarterback depth chart.
Yes, Joe had both hands on the backup role behind Dak, but now, he'll have his first true competition to keep the job.
Ideally, the Cowboys would want Milton to win the job, but if Howell shows more this offseason, then Joe might be relegated to third string.
An intriguing battle awaits.