What a surprise! Cowboys cut Dan Bailey, keep Rico Gathers
The Dallas Cowboys shocked the world with their final cuts on Saturday.
No, it was not the decision to keep tight end Rico Gathers on the roster one day after he was arrested by Frisco police for marijuana possession.
It was the surprising decision to cut Dan Bailey, the best kicker in franchise history and one of the most accurate in NFL history, for Brett Maher.
Maher opened eyes with a 57-yard field goal in the preseason finale against the Houston Texans on Thursday.
That along with his solid performances throughout camp helped him unseat Bailey when the team trimmed its roster down to 53 by announcing a host of roster moves Saturday.
Bailey has the club record for field goals in a career with 186 and is the only kicker in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl (2015). He is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history, making 186 of 211 kicks in his career (88.2 percent).
But he was not himself last season when he suffered a groin injury, causing him to miss four games, while missing two extra points and five field goals in the final five games.
The move certainly saves the Cowboys money. Bailey’s cap hit in 2018 was $4.2 million. He was owed base salaries of $3.4 million in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Maher, who was with the Cowboys in 2013, has bounced around in the CFL. He returned to the Cowboys last April but does not have any NFL stats having yet to kick in a regular-season game.
It’s definitely an end of the era for the Cowboys special teams and the beginning of a new one.
Other notables from the cuts on Saturday:
* Gathers made the roster as the fourth tight end after being arrested Friday night in Frisco for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana. The Cowboys apparently saw enough in training camp and the preseason to continue the experiment with Gathers, who played basketball in college at Baylor. The other three tight ends are Geoff Swaim, Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz.
* The Cowboys went with six receivers but decided to keep Noah Brown over Deonte Thompson and Lance Lenoir. Brown has been sidelined all camp and preseason with a hamstring injury. Thompson missed the first two preseason games with an Achilles strain but has been healthy the past two weeks. And Lenoir’s strong camp and preseason didn’t hold up at final cuts. The Cowboys would like to sign Lenoir back to the practice squad.
* All three quarterbacks made it. So Cooper Rush and Mike White will back up Dak Prescott.
* The Cowboys kept just two running backs in Ezekiel Elliott and Rod Smith. Rookie draft pick Bo Scarbrough and Darius Jackson, the most likely options for the third running back, were released. They will try to sign Scarbrough to the practice squad.
* The Cowboys finally parted ways with failed 2015 third-round pick Chaz Green on the offensive line, which also features center Travis Frederick, for now. Frederick is out indefinitely with Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The Cowboys had to keep him on the final roster before deciding whether to put him injured reserve with the option of bringing him back.
* The defensive line saw the Cowboys release veteran additions Jihad Ward and Kony Ealy and 2016 fourth-round pick Charles Tapper. The highlight was Antwaun Woods making it and possibly starting opening day at nose guard after starting training camp on the fourth team.
The Cowboys kept seven linebackers with rookie Chris Covington making it behind Sean Lee, Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Joe Thomas, Justin March-Lilliard and Damien Wilson.
The Cowboys kept just four cornerbacks in Byron Jones, Chido Awuzie, Anthony Brown and Jourdan Lewis.
Tyree Robinson made it as the fourth safety behind Xavier Woods, Jeff Heath and Kavon Frazier.
The roster is not set as the Cowboys continue to scan the waiver wire for possible additions.
This story was originally published September 1, 2018 at 4:28 PM.