Amobi Okoye Released by Cowboys: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye will have to continue his comeback story for a team other than the Dallas Cowboys.

Adam Caplan of ESPN noted that the Cowboys released Okoye Wednesday. Per OverTheCap.com, the move frees up $870,000 in available cap space and does not create any dead money.

Okoye spent last season on the reserve/non-football illness list and never appeared in an actual game for the Cowboys. In fact, he hasn’t played since 2012, when he was a member of the Chicago Bears. Okoye was recovering from anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a serious brain condition, and was actually in a coma for three months at one point.

Okoye was the 10th overall pick in 2007 by the Houston Texans, where he spent the first four seasons of his career before going to Chicago.

At 6’2” and 310 pounds, he is a run-stuffer who can occupy multiple blockers at once and free up teammates to make plays in space. Some team could very well take a chance on Okoye in hopes that he can tap into that potential that made him a first-round pick years ago now that Dallas has released him.

Okoye played in all 16 games in four of his first five years in the league, so he was durable before the health scare.

He also has a solid work ethic given linebacker Bruce Carter’s quotes, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com:

"

He's been through a lot. His story is amazing. A guy like that who works real hard, I see him all the time working [with strength and conditioning coordinator Mike Woicik] one-on-one. Just to see him actually working with [us] and see it pay off is a great thing. I think he's going to do great things for us.

"

Still, Okoye is 27 years old and has been away from live games for three years now. He is certainly a risky signing, although he likely won’t command big-time money either.

Plenty will be pulling for him in his continued comeback efforts, but it won’t happen in Dallas.