GRAND PRIX — FRISCO, Texas — For the Dallas Cowboys, the most important aspect of preseason football is ensuring that every player stays healthy so that they can perform at their best during the regular season. Deuce Vaughn and Jalen Tolbert have been thrust into the spotlight following the injuries suffered by star rookies DeMarvion Overshown and John Stephens Jr. on Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks.

Tolbert isn’t a rookie, but after a strong second training camp and preseason, he’s being mentioned among players like Vaughn and the now-redshirted Overshown and Stephens as potential impact players for the 2023 season.

Do you think the Cowboys will bubble wrap Vaughn and Tolbert (and maybe even Rico Dowdle) until September 10 when they travel to play the New York Giants because of the season-ending injuries sustained by the latter two?

According to head coach Mike McCarthy, no decision has been taken as of Monday.

McCarthy promised intense competition for his team’s defense in two padded, late workouts. So, we’ll wait until after that to select who will play versus the Raiders based on their performance.

On Saturday, the Cowboys will host the Raiders at AT&T Stadium in their final preseason game before the crucial final roster cuts, which will involve putting 37 players on waivers to reduce the roster from 90 to 53, with the hope that some of those waived players will be reclaimed by Dallas and added to the team’s 16-man practice squad.

but, as previously indicated, the objective for the next several days remains evaluation and health; but, for those who have arguably demonstrated everything they needed to show, such as Vaughn, Tolbert, and Rico Dowdle, the objective now becomes just surviving the month of August.

The Cowboys are now debating that.