Getty Taco Charlton
Barring the unexpected, Taco Charlton will be involved in a to-go order … out of town.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the Dallas Cowboys are likely to release Charlton on Tuesday, unless the team can quickly find a taker for the embattled defensive end. Rapoport’s coworker, Cowboys insider Jane Slater, reports there’s a 3 p.m. CT deadline for a decision, as Dallas needs to activate Robert Quinn, fresh off suspension, to the roster.
Various reports have since indicated that Charlton is on the verge of being cut. The 2017 first-round draft pick was not at Wednesday’s practice — the portion open to media, anyway — and his absence isn’t injury-related.
In other words, by the end of the day, he’ll be unemployed.
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So Much for Jerry
Unable to find any takers for his services, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones insisted Tuesday that Charlton is valuable manpower whom the team cannot part with. Jones held his weekly interview with 105.3 The Fan and vehemently denied allegations that Charlton, a healthy scratch in Weeks 1 and 2, is being mothballed to preserve trade value. In fact, he even went so far as cracking the door for Taco to make his 2019 debut Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
“No, that’s not right,” Jones said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “That’s just not right. We need him out there. We need him out there. You notice [Trysten] Hill’s not out there. He may be out there this weekend. The good news is we’ve got that kind of depth in there and we’ve got guys that, maybe it’s because they can go inside or out, but we’ve got guys who have been better for the team to be out there. We’ve got a lot of players there that can help our team and help in any given game. So, it doesn’t surprise me that we have guys that aren’t active. That happens to good football players.”
Impact of Release
Working under the assumption Charlton’s a goner, the Cowboys will have to eat roughly $3.19 million in dead money, stemming from his four-year rookie contract, which carries a $1.376 million base salary for 2019 and $2.735 million salary cap number.
With him out of the picture, Dallas will move forward with DeMarcus Lawrence and Tyrone Crawford as the starting defensive ends, and Kerry Hyder, Dorance Armstrong, Christian Covington and Quinn as the primary reserves.
Quinn will make his Cowboys debut against his former employer, the Dolphins, though he may be on a pitch count following offseason surgery and his two-game league-mandated ban.
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