Malachi Lawrence will get on the field when the Dallas Cowboys open the preseason against the Seattle Seahawks, Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday, but the staff still has not locked in how much of the game he will actually play.
Schottenheimer said Lawrence is going to “play a little bit of football,” a sign that the young player is part of the early evaluation plan rather than waiting on the sideline. The coach also said Caleb Downs will play in the preseason, and that the two snap counts have not been finalized yet.
That leaves the question of workload open, even as the Cowboys move toward their preseason opener. Schottenheimer said Lawrence should see more action than Downs because he is not projected as a starter, which is the simplest reason the split should tilt his way once the staff decides how to distribute the snaps.
Back when training camp opened, Schottenheimer said the Cowboys divide players into four groups for preseason workload, and Lawrence appears to fall into the bucket that needs live-game reps before bigger decisions are made. He is being treated as part of the preseason plan, not as a player whose role is already settled.
The same update also pointed to a separate offensive change, with Klayton Adams now installing the passes and set to call some plays during the preseason while Schottenheimer handles most of the work. Schottenheimer also said Jaydon Blue and Phil Mafah are “in a tight battle” for the backup spot behind Javonte Williams, while Malik Davis and Israel Abanikanda remain in the running back room.
The clean takeaway is that Lawrence is going to play, but not yet on a defined script. The Cowboys still have a couple of days before the Seattle game, and the missing number is the one that will show how much they trust him once the preseason opener starts.
