Less than 24 hours before the kickoff of Sunday's game against the Buccaneers, the Cowboys made two roster moves, promoting linebacker Orie Lemon to the 53-man roster and releasing cornerback Mario Butler.

Both Lemon and Butler had spent the entire 2011 season on the Cowboys' practice squad. Butler played both corner and safety for the Cowboys, but with Mike Jenkins back to full health, he became the odd man out at a position where the Cowboys suddenly have a lot of depth. He was active against the Giants, but inactive against the Seahawks.

Butler is eligible for the practice squad, and it's likely the Cowboys will try to bring him back if he clears waivers. But with many cornerback-needy teams around the league, the chances of that happening appear to be slim.

Orie Lemon was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2011, and though he was released at the end of training camp, Lemon impressed the team enough that they signed him to the practice squad soon after where he remained for the rest of the season.

Lemon impressed many observers in camp this year, but he fell victim to the numbers game at inside linebacker. Now that Alex Albright has been ruled out for Sunday's game with a neck stinger, it's likely that Lemon was called up to fill Albright's special teams spot.

The college football open thread for today can be found here.