Getty Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
The Dallas Cowboys have made their second wave of roster cuts as the 2022 regular season approaches, saying goodbye to a veteran pass catcher in the process.
Dallas trimmed the roster to 85 players last week, and has now cut it down to 80 ahead of the August 23 deadline, according to ESPN reporter Todd Archer.
“The Cowboys have settled their kicking competition, at least for now, by releasing Lirim Hajrullahu, according to a source. That leaves Brett Maher as the only kicker on the roster going into Friday’s preseason game against Seattle,” Archer tweeted on August 23. “Other roster moves include: LB Christian Sam (waived/injured) TE Jeremy Sprinkle (injured) WR Jaquarii Roberson CB Quandre Mosely.”
Other roster moves include:
LB Christian Sam (waived/injured)
TE Jeremy Sprinkle (injured)
WR Jaquarii Roberson
CB Quandre Mosely
Roberson and Mosely were undrafted free agents who signed with the Cowboys after the draft, while Sam joined the team at 26, four years after initially being drafted by the New England Patriots. Given their relatively quiet training camps, none of those three releases was surprising.
However, the release of Hajrullahu is a major one, in terms of the future at kicker. Maher, a 32-year-old kicker with three years of NFL experience, is left as the front-runner, so Dallas could add another kicking before the regular season starts on September 11.
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Cowboys Deciding Kicker Battle?
Dallas has had a rotating cast at kicker this offseason after the departure of Greg Zuelein as the team’s starter. Since then, Jonathan Garibay, Hajrullahu and now Maher have all taken turns as the sole kicker on the roster.
But don’t look at Maher’s being on the roster as a confirmation that he will be Dallas’ starter come Week 1. Star-Telegram reporter Clarence Hill Jr. tweeted that Dallas is still looking at the free agency market.
“Maher still not guaranteed to make final roster. Cowboys looking at other kickers before final cuts. But he is in drivers seat,” Hill Jr. he wrote on August 23.
If Dallas is still in the market, it will be interesting to see how quickly they add a new option. With the final — and biggest — wave of roster cuts coming on August 30, it feels likely the Cowboys will wait and see who becomes available just before the regular season.
Sprinkle Out, Rookie In?
Sprinkle had been projected to be cut before the regular season, and it has now come true. Dallas Morning News reporter Michael Gehlken tweeted on August 13 that Sprinkle, 28, struggled in the team’s first preseason game and never really found footing in training camp.
Having a nagging Achilles injury did not help the former Arkansas tight end’s case. He missed time early in August and then was forced to miss practice again late last week before the preseason matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. Then he was ruled out for the game itself.
Sprinkle was competing with Peyton Hendershot, Sean McKeon and Jake Ferguson for the backup roles behind Dalton Schultz, and there’s a real chance that Dallas will now keep the remaining four tight ends as its group.
There’s a chance they only roll with three tight ends, but either way, this is major news for Hendershot as he tries to make a 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent.