Getty The Cowboys rumors continue this offseason.
To create room for its 2021 rookie class — comprised of 11 drafted players and 13 undrafted free-agent signings — the Dallas Cowboys announced on Wednesday a slew of cuts from the 90-man offseason roster.
The Cowboys issued pink slips to six players: defensive tackles Antwaun Woods and Walter Palmore, offensive lineman Adam Redmond, cornerbacks Saivion Smith and Kemon Hall, and defensive end Ladarius Hamilton.
“Woods and Redmond were released as vested veterans. Smith, Palmore, Hamilton and Hall were waived,” the team’s official website noted.
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Woods is the biggest name among the bunch, a three-year starter at nose tackle in Dallas. He appeared in seven games last season, recording 23 tackles, one sack and two quarterback hits across 459 defensive snaps. Woods entered this offseason as a restricted free agent whom the Cowboys re-signed to a $2.133 million contract last month.
In hindsight, though, the writing was on the wall for Woods, as the club added two DL in free agency (Carlos Watkins, Brent Urban) and imported three others via the Draft (third-rounders Osa Odighizuwa and Chauncey Golston, and sixth-rounder Quinton Bohanna).
The Cowboys — expected to employ a hybrid defense under new coordinator Dan Quinn — are also high on incumbent contributors Trysten Hill and Neville Gallimore.
“I would say it’s kind of a mixture because so much of the defense nowadays is played out of a nickel front,” Quinn said of his base set, via SI.com. “So, that’s more of a four-down of what you play. As far as in the base packages go, it will look more like a 3-4 look, and that would have been consistent whether it was the team last year or my times with Atlanta as well. But more often than not, with most teams, the nickel packages, which teams play, I’d say, close to 60% or 70% of the time are more out of a four-down.”
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Redmond is the second biggest name chopped Wednesday, though that’s not saying much. The Harvard product spent the last three seasons with the Cowboys, appearing in 10 games in 2018 and four games in 2020. He inked a reserve/future deal in January.
Dallas signed one veteran offensive line (Ty Nsekhe) in free agency and burned the 138th overall draft pick on former Marshall tackle Josh Ball, a selection littered with controversy. They also used a seventh-round flier on Nebraska interior OL Matt Farniok.
As of now, before training camp and the preseason shake up the depth chart, the Cowboys are slated to return their A-listers along the front five — left tackle Tyron Smith, right guard Zack Martin, and right tackle La’el Collins among them. Tyler Biadiasz is penciled in as the starting center, with Connor Williams stationed at left guard.
The team’s other OL include Connor McGovern, Brandon Knight, and Terence Steele.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL