On Thursday evening, the Dallas Cowboys will hit the field for a primetime home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys are hoping to build off the momentum from their recent win over the Houston Texans on the road, while the Buccaneers enter this game winless at 0-4, and with quarterback Baker Mayfield sidelined due to injury.
Earlier in the day on Thursday, the Cowboys made multiple roster moves ahead of the big game.
“Cowboys waived RB Emari Demercado and officially activated G Tyler Smith from Reserve/Injured-Designated for Return,” reported NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.
Getting Smith back will certainly help the Cowboys' offensive line as they look to give Dak Prescott as much time as possible in the pocket.
Meanwhile, Dallas is hoping for another strong performance from recent trade acquisition Joey Porter Jr., the star cornerback whom the team got from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a blockbuster deal before last week's game vs the Texans.
Porter Jr. is expected to help turn things around for a Cowboys defense that has been inconsistent at best so far this year despite spending all offseason touting how much they'd changed things after a disastrous effort in 2025.
Article Continues BelowThe Cowboys' two wins this year have come against teams with a grand total of one win, and the winless Buccaneers without their starting quarterback aren't expected to present much more of a challenge.
However, there's certainly something to be said about taking care of business against lesser competition, and the Cowboys will look to do just that when this game kicks off at 8:15 pm ET from Arlington.