NFL Rumors: Dallas Cowboys to Start CB Leon McFadden After Releasing Rod Smith

Nov 04, 2016 01:44 PM EDT

The Dallas Cowboys recently announced that they have waived wide receiver Rod Smith from their lineup. Although the team has not yet made an official roster move to replace him, the Cowboys are expected to promote Leon McFadden from the practice squad.

The Dallas franchise made the announcement regarding the release of Smith on Thursday. He made his debut in the NFL as an undrafted free agent for the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. After only playing in one game with the Seahawks in October last year, he was released from the roster.

The Cowboys then claimed him to serve as the replacement for Joseph Randle. In total, he appeared in 10 games with the Dallas squad and played mainly on special teams.

However, given the number of healthy active players on the Cowboys' roster, the team eventually decided to waive him.

With Smith now officially out, it is not yet clear who the team will bring in to serve as a replacement. But, there have been rumors that McFadden, a former member of the New York Giants' future/reserve contract list after he was waived from the team's active roster. He was released from the team during the preseason as part of its roster cuts.

He then became a member of the Cowboys' practice squad last month.

Following the release of Smith, McFadden will most likely be promoted to the active roster in order to boost the depth of the team's lineup. However, he will probably not be a starter since he's still a bit short on playing experience.

Instead, if McFadden gets activated, he'll most likely be a third-stringer.

Currently, the Cowboys are enjoying a nearly perfect record with 6 wins and only 1 loss, which happened during Week 1 against the New York Giants. This is probably the reason why the team feels secured with its current roster. In other words, it doesn't feel the need to make drastic changes with the lineup.

The team's next game will be on November 6 for Week 9. The Cowboys are scheduled to take on the Cleveland Browns at the First Energy Stadium.