Seahawks vs. Cowboys on Saturday Starts Seattle's Preseason Schedule
What to watch for in Seahawks-Cowboys preseason Week 1
When the Seattle Seahawks face the Cowboys on Saturday, a familiar name could be playing the biggest role for Dallas on the entire roster: Sam Howell.
Another former Seahawk, Brian Schottenheimer, has referred to the competition between Howell and Joe Milton III for the backup quarterback role as “back and forth” and Saturday’s preseason opener could be one of the deciding factors.
Fans will see those two quarterbacks, not Dak Prescott or most Cowboys starters, and the story should be the same on Seattle’s side. But that doesn’t mean the entire game will be boring, at least not for those fans curious about the backend and practice squad of the Seahawks roster.
Jalen Milroe must show something
Sometimes we treat “raw” quarterbacks as if they were discovered yesterday, like that scene in Rambo II when Colonel Hartman pulls Rambo out of a prison camp to go fight in Vietnam again. (They don’t write plot like they used to.) It’s not like Jalen Milroe’s been digging ditches for the last six years.
He had four years at Alabama, arguably the best quarterback education that NIL could buy. To steal a phrase from MTV: “It’s time to stop being polite, and start getting real.”
The NFL is the real world.
Without giving away his entire preseason plan for the quarterbacks, Mike Macdonald hints that things will be done differently this year:
“We’re working through that right now. I think we might take a little bit of a different approach this year on how we play our quarterbacks,” Macdonald said. “But Drew needs a lot of game work as well. Everybody needs work. So how do you do it? Even Sam.” While he doesn’t overtly say it, I suspect that the takeaway here is that Milroe might see more opportunities.
Milroe had slightly more preseason pass attempts than Drew Lock in 2025, but maybe he gets an even bigger share this year. It would be surprising if Lock didn’t play, but if he does then wouldn’t he be the starter? Does Milroe play the second half? We shouldn’t expect to see Sam Darnold this weekend, but maybe he gets a quarter or even a full half next week.
Going into his second year with the Seahawks—and sixth year out of high school—Jalen Milroe must start looking like a quarterback in the pocket. Can he stand and deliver passes, read through his progressions, and keep his eyes downfield instead of bailing at the first sign of pressure? PFF notes that he wasn’t much of a threat as a passer last preseason:
The dual-threat quarterback left something to be desired last preseason, posting a 42.8 PFF passing grade without recording a single big-time throw despite an aggressive 10.1-yard average depth of target. He also held onto the ball for an average of 3.3 seconds.
Yes, he’s a phenomenal athlete who could pick up first downs with his legs. But that can’t be the only thing he does, or turn him into a Taysom Hill.
The good news and the bad news
Is that Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker is gaining steam as one of the brightest young minds in football. During Tuesday’s scrimmage against the Los Angeles Rams starters, Parker was praised for helping Dallas do exponentially better in a joint practice against L.A. than the Cowboys had done in the same environment a year earlier with Matt Eberflus as the DC.
So even if the Cowboys won’t have most of their defensive starters (although they could have a couple of big names out there), Parker will be trying to flex his muscles during his NFL debut as a defensive coordinator.
That could cause some headaches for Milroe and Lock, but should also make them better if they survive.
Familiar Names on Cowboys
The Seahawks may see a few former teammates on the other side.
QB Sam Howell
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
CB Derion Kendrick
Howell is likely to play a lot as he battles Milroe for an important job behind Prescott. With Prescott’s injury history, it’s possible that backup makes a few starts this season. Howell has not started a game since 2023 and he hasn’t thrown a pass since a brief appearance with Seattle in 2024. He was on the Vikings and Eagles last year, so despite being 25, Howell’s career is in jeopardy.
MVS was a surprise cut by the Seahawks last year—only surprising because of the $3 million they used on the signing—and now he’s with Dallas, but an injury could keep him sidelined.
Kendrick intercepted two passes for Seattle last season—more than Devon Witherspoon and Josh Jobe and Riq Woolen—but is way too consistent to be a regular on defense. He’s in a fight for one of the last spots on the Cowboys roster and should see the field on Saturday.
Other interesting Cowboys to watch
Schottenheimer didn’t rule out that first-round picks S Caleb Downs and DE Malachi Lawrence could debut on Saturday. It may not happen, but Schottenheimer confirmed on Thursday that both will play some preseason snaps, but probably not many of them.
Schottenheimer breaks players down into four buckets, with A+ guys playing no preseason snaps, B+ guys playing a handful, B- guys playing some, and C guys playing unlimited preseason snaps.
Downs is estimated as a B+ guy
Lawrence is estimated as a B- guy
In Downs, we’re talking about a player who some believe has a future as an All-Pro safety, and we know he will be starting right away. He may only get 2-3 series in the preseason, but Schottenheimer wants him to get his feet wet.
Lawrence, the 23rd overall pick, is not expected to have as big of a role in the regular season, so playing more preseason snaps is considered important. Between the two, Lawrence is more likely to face Seattle on Saturday.
Other names to watch out for would include RB Jaydon Blue, WR Jonathan Mingo, TE Luke Schoonmaker, and LB Jaishawn Barham, a third-round rookie.
Another linebacker, Justin Barron, is coming off of the extraordinary high of intercepting three passes against the Rams in joint practice on Tuesday. Barron is not a lock to make the 53-man roster, so eyes will be on him to see if he can repeat his success to some degree this Saturday.
You’ll probably also recognize the name Denzel Mims. The former second-round pick hasn’t appeared in a game since 2022(!) and has most recently been playing in the UFL. The Cowboys signed Mims in June, giving the 28-year-old one last chance to make the NFL again.
Defensively, who remembers James Houston? He had eight sacks for the Lions as a rookie in 2022—and he only played in seven games. Little has been heard from Houston since, but he could have a big role on Saturday, as could former second-rounder Sam Williams at the same position.
Best Seahawks Depth Guys
We’ve done things like the 91-man Seahawks player rankings exactly for moments like Saturday.
Pick your poison at receiver, which is consistently the position that is able to stand out in preseason because even practice squads have receivers able to make highlight catches, and they’re going against relatively soft coverage. The receivers you see on Saturday must earn their roles in other ways, like run blocking, route-running, and special teams.
Do they know the playbook and understand their assignments?
Montorie Foster, Jr. has been the biggest surprise of training camp. How will that translate against Parker’s second and third-string Dallas defense? Will he be able to get some catchable passes by Milroe?
This is not just a great opportunity for rookie Emmanuel Henderson, Jr., but also second-year man Ricky White III. The WR6 role is more of an argument to be made by Jay Harbaugh than it is Brian Fleury.
The running back position is also far from settled and much easier for fans to track in a preseason setting. Jacardia Wright, Velus Jones, TJ Harden, and Justin Jones will be the ones to watch on Saturday, not any of the backs expected to make the 53. And it’s not “do you pick up 15 yards on one play?” that gets someone on the team. It’s pass blocking. Special teams.
For someone, it could even be run blocking given the situation with Robbie Ouzts going on IR.
This will be our first opportunity to see Beau Stephens in action too, although I think the post-game breakdown videos posted on YouTube by various channels will be more insightful than watching it live. Do any other linemen—Logan Brown, Bryce Cabeldue, Federico Maranges, Mason Richman, etc.—stand out?
Defensively, the Seahawks have a bevy of draft picks making their NFL debuts.
Namely, DT Deven Eastern, CB Andre Fuller, and CB Michael Dansby will be the seventh-rounders to watch. With Nehemiah Pritchett now being called one of Seattle’s standouts in camp, it’s a double-edged sword for Fuller and Dansby.
On one hand, harder to make the team and have a role in 2026. On the other hand, it shows that under Mike Macdonald’s tutelage, a formerly-bad cornerback like Pritchett could turn the corner eventually:
"He's really competing and really excited for the opportunity he has," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "He's making the most of it. He's making a heck of a case for carving himself a role."
On the edges is where Seattle’s defense has the toughest competition.
Good luck picking a favorite between Connor O’Toole, Jared Ivy, Aidan Hubbard, Jalan Gaines, Jamie Sheriff, and Marvin Jones. They all bring something to the table, but only one or two are going to make the roster probably. Ivey was one of the best undrafted players in the entire NFL preseason last year. But O’Toole had the bigger role in the regular season, if you can call it that. Neither played much.
That could change in 2026. Seattle’s edge room is up for grabs.
We’ll see who else could play on Saturday. Rylie Mills is expected to be a near-starter caliber player on Seattle’s defensive line, but he needs reps. How much run will Macdonald give him on Saturday? And Tyrice Knight may have lost his starting job, but he’s my sleeper pick to be a breakout player this season.
I will also be watching Logan Brown at OT and Chris Paul at ILB - my picks at OTAs to be long shots to make the roster. I don’t think much of MVS as a threat to the Seahawks. I was not surprised at all when he was cut last year. In the three training camp practices I watched, it was clear Horton was better by a good margin and MVS offered nothing on special teams. I am terribly disappointed I did not get to go to the VMAC this year. I feel as though I’m blind going into this game.
Howell is not battling Milroe.