We know Schottenheimer wants his players to compete, and this offseason that mantra bore fruit.
"Compete every day.''
That has been the Dallas Cowboys' mantra under head coach Brian Schottenheimer this offseason.
With several position battles going down to the wire, Schottenheimer repeatedly stated throughout the offseason that the competition was top-notch among the playing group, which meant everyone was pushing each other to be better.
Whether that be Tyler Guyton at left tackle with Nate Thomas, or Shavon Revel Jr. at corner with Cobie Durant and DaRon Bland, or even the quarterback battle with Sam Howell and Joe Milton.
It brought the best out of each player.
And the best part is that Schottenheimer stayed true to his convictions about wanting the best 53 players on his roster.
Thomas was traded away, with Broderick Jones brought in, and Milton was shockingly cut, and yes, he did land back on the practice squad.
So, Schottenheimer preached competition and rewarded those who met that standard.
And for Howell, he knows that being in a legitimate competition for his NFL job made him into the player he is now.
"No doubt, I think competition is good," Howell said. "I think you learn as you get older in the league, you learn how beneficial competition can be. Obviously, you don't want players to be comfortable all the time because they're not really pushing themselves.
"Anytime you can have competition against a good player, it's going to make you better, and I think it definitely did."
So, the competition that the head coach preached daily was what made Howell a better player, simply because he knew that his job was on the line.
Not like with Guyton and Thomas. That was never a battle.
But Howell and Milton? Yeah, that was a legitimate one, and it came down to the final moments when the Cowboys had to choose.
And Howell's hand was raised.
It's one thing to preach compete every day, but to actually follow through with it is perhaps even better.
In years gone by, maybe the Cowboys would have kept Milton because of his physical traits and higher ceiling, but not Schottenheimer.
He wanted a backup quarterback who can help the team win now, not in two years.
And proper competition led the franchise to select Howell as Dak Prescott's backup.
