Cowboys release franchise record-setting kicker Dan Bailey

An absolute bombshell has been dropped by the Dallas Cowboys.

They’ve reportedly released kicker Dan Bailey —according to multiple sources — as they work to shave down their bloated 90-man roster to a mandatory 53-man head count.

Following a strong start to camp, Bailey had a rough two days wherein he missed more than one kick, again fueling an undercurrent of doubt from those who are terrified he’ll never be the same again — despite the aforementioned great practice days that preceded the rough patch.

Garrett, however, was far from concerned at the time.

“We keep going back to the body of work that [Bailey has] had for us,” he said. “He’s been as good as it gets in the National Football League the last seven, either years kicking the football. We feel great about him.”

This jives with what Bailey said at the top of the offseason, speaking with The Dallas Morning News at the time, drawing a very definitive line on where and when things started to trend negatively for him in 2017.

“I started the year great, probably the best I’ve been hitting the ball,” Bailey said. “And then I had that injury, ever since then I can’t get back in my normal groove. If I had an answer for it specifically, I definitely would’ve addressed it already. A lot to evaluate obviously going into the offseason.

“This is all new territory for me, really going back to the injury. Ever since then it’s uncharted territory, so, obviously largely disappointing on a lot of levels. I’ve got to take my medicine on it and learn from it. I’m not going to be happy about it.

“You want to be you out there every time you go out there.”

Bailey remains the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history with a success rate of 88.152%, despite his 2017 struggles. Only seven seasons into his NFL career, the 30-year-old logically still has a ton of tread left on his boot, but swinging an accurate leg that’s attached to a hurt groin would be a challenge for anyone who didn’t arrive from the future with the goal of murdering Sarah Connor.

He was the Cowboys’ most prolific weapon, until now.

For the team, with August soon in the rearview, it’s all about looking ahead — leading them to go with Brett Maher over Bailey, who had a solid preseason.

Another strong NFL Draft haul and some potent free agency signings later and the Cowboys are in much better position at the end of August than they were when spring rolled around, but they haven’t dodged every bullet. Their perennial All-Pro center, Travis Frederick, is sidelined indefinitely with the rare Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes antibodies to attack nerve cells. As he works to get healthy again, depth questions now surface on the offensive line, a corps that was thought rebuilt with the addition of rookie Connor Williams.

And speaking of the aforementioned Thomas, there’s been on movement in months regarding any chance he’d land in Dallas, and EVP Stephen Jones has committed to watching the waiver wire with a magnifying glass to begin September — in the hopes of finding additional help at both the OL and safety position. Xavier Woods (hamstring) isn’t expected to miss more than the regular season opener against the Carolina Panthers, but that doesn’t resolve what happens behind him, Kavon Frazier and Jeff Heath. They brought in additional talent, via Dominick Sanders and Jeron Johnson, but either one making the final roster was a longshot from the moment the pen hit the paper.

The good news is, to Jones’ point, there are 31 other teams also making cuts so there will be no shortage of talent available for potential waiver claim. It’s already raining talent as teams around the league start hacking at their rosters, setting things up to look very interesting come Sept 3, with a mountain of potential movement set to take place this weekend.

Shared from: 247sports.com

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