Getty Taco Charlton
Taco Charlton is one lineman the Dallas Cowboys aren’t trading.
Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones announced Friday that the No. 28 overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft will survive cutdown day and make the 53-man regular season roster.
“He’s frankly had a great camp,” Jones said, per the team’s official website. “…He does some things really well, and he’s capable of doing some other things really well. And it’s that part – you do the other things really well – that would make him the player we wanted to have when we drafted him with the No. 1 pick (in 2017).”
The subject of swirling trade rumors and release speculation, Charlton indeed stood out this summer — particularly in Dallas’ dress rehearsal trouncing of the Texans, when he notched three tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a pass deflection.
Put into context: He’s recorded only four sacks through two regular seasons, and had just one quarterback takedown in 2018.
Charlton picked up an ankle injury during the Houston game that sidelined him for the Cowboys’ exhibition finale on Thursday. He had wanted to participate in the capper because he felt a roster spot wasn’t yet secured.
“I ain’t done s–t,” Charlton said Aug. 26, via Pro Football Talk. “I ain’t done nothing. I still have a lot of work to do, a lot of stuff to prove. This ain’t nothing to me but lace them up. Let’s play the next game.”
It’s been a long, strange journey for the former Michigan star. Just two weeks ago, his future as murky as ever, Charlton was engaging his agent in discussions regarding a potential move from Dallas, the writing on the wall appearing in red ink.
“Me and my agent, we had our talk,” he said after the Cowboys’ preseason loss to the 49ers on Aug. 10. “We hear a lot of things. Like I said, I go out with the same thing each time. I try with the same thing, I go out there and play hard, try to be the best player on the field. My mentality never changes. I try to dominate the guy I’m against and try to make plays for this team and the type of plays for this defense that makes us a better defense for sure.”
But so he remains, locked into his age-24 campaign at a $1.376 million base salary and $2.735 million salary cap hit. Charlton is signed through 2020.
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Taco’s Projected Role
Charlton won’t start but figures to be an integral rotational piece behind defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford, both of whom are recovered from injuries. The particularly deep D-line, before final cuts, also boasts veteran Robert Quinn, who’s suspended for the first two games, and impressive rookie Joe Jackson.
“I’m willing and ready to play whenever,” Charlton said, per the team’s official website. “Just happy to be out here with my boys, playing the game I love to play.”
Linemen on the Move?
If there’s a flurry of activity in the next 72 hours, leading up to Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET roster cutdown deadline, expect the Cowboys to be at the forefront.
Executive vice president Stephen Jones revealed Wednesday at the team’s 2019 Kickoff Luncheon that he’s fielded trade calls involving Dallas’ bevy of offensive and defensive linemen. What’s more, Jones implied he will pull the trigger on at least one deal.
“I think there’s a possibility for sure that we could move somebody,” he said.
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