3 Players the Cowboys, NFL's Most Disappointing Teams Must Cut in the Offseason
The Dallas Cowboys started the season with an eye on the Lombardi Trophy. Now, they're looking at a potential top-10 pick.
Life comes at you fast in the NFL, and the Cowboys have been one of the most disappointing teams this season. Jerry Jones' team has lost five in a row and is all but eliminated from playoff contention.
Dak Prescott's season-ending injury has played a role, but this is a team that just feels lost right now.
The good news is that the NFL offseason provides plenty of opportunities for rebirth. The first time for the Cowboys will be deciding who stays and who goes from the current roster.
There are plenty of clubs in the same boat. We're officially in the back half of the season, and there are a few other teams performing well below expectations.
Based on their financial situation, current performance and roster makeup, here are three cut candidates for each of the NFL's most disappointing teams.
Dallas Cowboys
1 of 4
OT Terence Steele
It's not easy to find good offensive-line help in the league, but Terence Steele has regressed into becoming a liability for the Cowboys. According to Sports Info Solutions, he has already surrendered nine sacks and committed three false start penalties.
Cutting the 27-year-old would create around $4 million in cap space before June 1 next season. Designating him as a post-June 1 cut would clear around $14 million, but they'd have to wait to use that money.
S Donovan Wilson
The Cowboys are currently 26th in EPA allowed per pass and have clearly struggled without Dan Quinn running the defense. Not all of the blame can be placed on Donovan Wilson, but there's enough reserved for the veteran that the team will need to move on in the offseason.
Paying market price for a 29-year-old safety is something you can as a contender. The Cowboys should be looking to clear $5.4 million in cap space by releasing him.
S Malik Hooker
Just about everything said about Donovan Wilson could be said about Malik Hooker.
The Cowboys pass defense has been atrocious. While Hooker's individual numbers aren't as bad as Wilson's, it's hard to quantify safety play. As the defenders charged most with communicating coverage and playing deep, they have to be held culpable for the unit's struggles this season.
Cutting the 28-year-old would clear $3.8 million if done before June 1, so there's a little less financial incentive to make that move.
Cincinnati Bengals
2 of 4
Typically, having an elite quarterback means you are, at worst, around .500 in the quarterback-driven NFL. Yet, the Bengals have struggled so much that they are 4-7 despite a career year from Joe Burrow
DT Sheldon Rankins
The Bengals let D.J. Reader leave in free agency and then signed Sheldon Rankins to a two-year, $24.5 million contract. That has turned out to be a major source of disappointment.
The 30-year-old simply doesn't hold up at the point of attack the same way Reader did, and it's having a ripple effect on their defensive line.
The fact that the Bengals could save $9.5 million by cutting Rankins makes it a near-no-brainer.
Edge-Rusher Sam Hubbard
Longtime Bengal Sam Hubbard has just two sacks on the season and is ranked 70th out 114 edges graded by PFF.
The 29-year-old's strength has always been his ability to set the edge against the run, but Cincinnati hasn't been great at that this year, either.
Trey Hendrickson should be protected. The Bengals might have to restructure his deal to free up some cap space, but he's having a career year despite the defense around him.
Releasing Hubbard would free up $9.6 million and pave the way for a new era at the position.
S Geno Stone
What a difference a year makes.
Last year, Geno Stone was making a name for himself with the Baltimore Ravens, picking off seven passes and earning a two-year, $14 million contract the the Bengals. However, that season feels like a mirage at this point.
The 25-year-old is ranked 86th out of the 89 safeties PFF has graded this season. Opposing quarterbacks have a passer rating of 116.3 when targeting him.
Cincinnati would only be on the hook for $1.5 million if it cuts him ahead of next season.
Jacksonville Jaguars
3 of 4
It's not like the Jaguars were expected to be Super Bowl contender, but there was at least hope they could challenge the Texans in the AFC South. Instead they are fighting it out with the Tennessee Titans for the No. 1 pick in the draft.
WR Christian Kirk
Christian Kirk is another example of a player whose team would probably rather trade him at the end of the season, but cutting him has to be considered an option too.
The 2018 second-rounder got off to a good start in Jacksonville with 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season with Trevor Lawrence.
The magic is gone now, though. Kirk has suffered a season-ending injury for the second year in a row and has only played 20 games over the last two seasons.
He's a talented receiver, but he'll be a 29-year-old coming off a major injury for the second consecutive season set to cost $24.4 million. The Jaguars get that number down to $13.7 million by releasing him.
DT DaVon Hamilton
The Jaguars have been a disappointing team overall, but it's the defensive front that might be the most frustrating.
On paper, it should be a good group. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are two athletic mismatches on the outside, and Arik Armstead was supposed to team up with DaVon Hamilton to form a dominant duo on the inside.
Instead, Armstead has been non-existent and Hamilton's production has taken a nosedive too. He's ranked 86th out of 116 interior defenders graded by PFF.
The Jaguars can't really cut Armstead. Even with a post-June 1 designation, they would lose money. However, they can save $7.3 million if they cut Hamilton with a post-June 1 designation.
CB Ronald Darby
The Jaguars have the worst pass defense in the league right now and the worst opponent passer rating (111.6). A pass defense that bad isn't just about the players on the field, there's coaching and roster-building issues at play as well.
However, there's also a price to be paid by the players. There's a good chance that at least one of the starters in the defensive backfield will be gone.
Ronald Darby is a logical target. He'll be 31 next season, and the Jags would have to pay him $5 million if he stays on. They could clear $2.3 million by cutting him.
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New York Jets
4 of 4
The Jets were considered a high-volatility team this year. With a 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, the range of outcomes was wide. But they are on the low end of the range without much hope of turning it around this year.
WR Allen Lazard
The only way that cutting Rodgers will make financial sense is if the Jets cut him with a June 1 designation. That would spread out the remainder of his guaranteed money over the next two seasons, but it still only saves $9.5 million.
Even if the Jets don't cut ties with the veteran quarterback, they still have to consider cutting ties with a vestige of the Rodgers era. That means releasing Allen Lazard ahead of free agency.
The longtime teammate of the former Packers QB will be 30 years old, and the Jets traded for Davante Adams while Lazard was out with a chest injury.
WR Davante Adams
Admittedly, the Jets should be able to find at least some trade value for Adams, but his contract is going to be fairly hard to offload. Still, New York might also be better off simply cutting its losses and moving on.
It isn't like the 31-year-old can't still produce at a high level, though; it's the fact that this Jets team could be in for a complete remodel once Rodgers moves on.
Adams just went through that with the Raiders, so it's hard to imagine him being excited about sticking around for another rebuild. The Jets would clear an astounding $30 million against the cap by cutting him.
K Greg Zuerlein
The Jets have much bigger problems than finding the right placekicker, but it doesn't help that Greg Zuerlein has missed some crucial kicks this season.
The most recent example was a missed field goal in a 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots. He's had one of the worst seasons of his career to this point, connecting on nine of his 15 field-goal attempts.
Zuerlein, 36, is now on injured reserve with a left knee injury. He can return to the lineup in a few weeks. Really, it feels like the Jets are already preparing for life with a new kicker. However, it just makes more sense to release him next offseason when they can save $2.5 million.
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