FanHouse Brandon Williams

As Calvin Watkins reported first at the FanHouse a couple weeks ago, the Cowboys were looking to trade outside linebacker Greg Ellis.

But as you would expect, the market for 33-year-old outside linebackers/defensive ends with a $6 million contract is pretty small. So rather than pay his $4million-plus base salary, the Cowboys released him on Tuesday. The move will save the team more than $4 million on the salary cap.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Jerry Jones might be a little eccentric, but the guy can spot talent. When it isn't top picks like Troy Aikman or Emmitt Smith coming to the Cowboys, it is undrafted guys like Tony Romo or late third-round guys like Jason Witten. Even Patrick Crayton in the seventh round was a success for Dallas.

This year, the Cowboys traded down, but didn't really snag anyone that is going to blow your hair back. Jason Williams of Western Illinois is a player that might see some time for Dallas this season. In college, Williams was a fumble-forcing machine, knocking loose six his senior seasons.

On Monday, the NFL announced its preseason schedule for 2009, and the most intriguing game -- as intriguing as preseason games can be -- might be between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, Aug. 13.