Surprise Cuts
Nick Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
September 1, 2007 5:15 PM
IRVING, Texas - Despite the Cowboys having most of their starters, and even several backups, already in place since the start of training camp, the final cuts are never easy.
And while the Cowboys released 22 players on Saturday to trim down to the 53-player limit, it certainly couldn't have been easy for the club to let go of a savvy veteran with 13 years of experience, especially at a position that already has several question marks.
But that's what they did by cutting veteran cornerback Aaron Glenn, who was expected to be the team's nickel corner. Glenn started the final three preseason games in place of Terence Newman, who has a partial tear in his plantar fascia. But the Cowboys are hopeful Newman will be ready for the Sept. 9 opener against the Giants.
The Cowboys certainly hope he is, because not only did they release Glenn, but also cornerbacks Joey Thomas and Quincy Butler. That means fourth-year veterans Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones both survived the cuts, as did rookies Alan Ball and Courtney Brown, who was moved to safety in training camp.
In fact, all eight draft picks made the team, including sixth-round pick Nick Folk, who will handle all of the kicking duties, at least to start the season. That's because the Cowboys have placed veteran Martin Gramatica on injured reserve because of strained hamstring he suffered last week.
While Gramatica will be placed on IR, that doesn't guarantee his $800,000 base salary. It's likely the Cowboys will give him an injury settlement in the next few days. If that happens, Gramatica would not be eligible to return to the roster for at least six weeks, plus the length of the settlement.
Other notable cuts include outside linebacker Junior Glymph, one of the players picking up the slack in the absence of Greg Ellis (heel). While head coach Wade Phillips has said he is getting closer to ruling Ellis out for Sunday's game with the Giants, the roster moves don't actually reflect that statement.
The Cowboys have only three outside linebackers on the current roster in Ellis, DeMarcus Ware and rookie Anthony Spencer. However, second-year veteran Bobby Carpenter also has been taking reps on the outside. The Cowboys also waived outside backers John Saldi and Khari Long.
Phillips said earlier on Saturday that the Cowboys released some players who played well in Thursday's loss to the Vikings.
Two players from that group would include wide receiver Jerheme Urban, who scored on a 95-yard punt return, and quarterback Matt Moore, who played more than two quarters and engineered a touchdown drive.
The Cowboys also released fullback Lousaka Polite but kept Oliver Hoyte and rookie Deon Anderson on the roster.
Here is the complete list of roster moves the Cowboys made on Saturday:
Injured Reserve:
K Martin Gramatica
Waived:
QB Matt Moore
QB Richard Bartel
WR Mike Jefferson
WR Damarius Bilbo
WR Jerheme Urban
TE Rodney Hannah
TE Adam Bergen
LB Junior Glymph
LB Blair Phillips
LB John Saldi
LB Khari Long
CB Joey Thomas
CB Aaron Glenn
CB Quincy Butler
RB Arliss Beach
DT Remi Ayodele
G Trey Darilek
OL Matt Tarullo
RB Alonzo Coleman
FB Lousaka Polite
DE Marcus Smith
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
September 1, 2007 5:15 PM
IRVING, Texas - Despite the Cowboys having most of their starters, and even several backups, already in place since the start of training camp, the final cuts are never easy.
And while the Cowboys released 22 players on Saturday to trim down to the 53-player limit, it certainly couldn't have been easy for the club to let go of a savvy veteran with 13 years of experience, especially at a position that already has several question marks.
But that's what they did by cutting veteran cornerback Aaron Glenn, who was expected to be the team's nickel corner. Glenn started the final three preseason games in place of Terence Newman, who has a partial tear in his plantar fascia. But the Cowboys are hopeful Newman will be ready for the Sept. 9 opener against the Giants.
The Cowboys certainly hope he is, because not only did they release Glenn, but also cornerbacks Joey Thomas and Quincy Butler. That means fourth-year veterans Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones both survived the cuts, as did rookies Alan Ball and Courtney Brown, who was moved to safety in training camp.
In fact, all eight draft picks made the team, including sixth-round pick Nick Folk, who will handle all of the kicking duties, at least to start the season. That's because the Cowboys have placed veteran Martin Gramatica on injured reserve because of strained hamstring he suffered last week.
While Gramatica will be placed on IR, that doesn't guarantee his $800,000 base salary. It's likely the Cowboys will give him an injury settlement in the next few days. If that happens, Gramatica would not be eligible to return to the roster for at least six weeks, plus the length of the settlement.
Other notable cuts include outside linebacker Junior Glymph, one of the players picking up the slack in the absence of Greg Ellis (heel). While head coach Wade Phillips has said he is getting closer to ruling Ellis out for Sunday's game with the Giants, the roster moves don't actually reflect that statement.
The Cowboys have only three outside linebackers on the current roster in Ellis, DeMarcus Ware and rookie Anthony Spencer. However, second-year veteran Bobby Carpenter also has been taking reps on the outside. The Cowboys also waived outside backers John Saldi and Khari Long.
Phillips said earlier on Saturday that the Cowboys released some players who played well in Thursday's loss to the Vikings.
Two players from that group would include wide receiver Jerheme Urban, who scored on a 95-yard punt return, and quarterback Matt Moore, who played more than two quarters and engineered a touchdown drive.
The Cowboys also released fullback Lousaka Polite but kept Oliver Hoyte and rookie Deon Anderson on the roster.
Here is the complete list of roster moves the Cowboys made on Saturday:
Injured Reserve:
K Martin Gramatica
Waived:
QB Matt Moore
QB Richard Bartel
WR Mike Jefferson
WR Damarius Bilbo
WR Jerheme Urban
TE Rodney Hannah
TE Adam Bergen
LB Junior Glymph
LB Blair Phillips
LB John Saldi
LB Khari Long
CB Joey Thomas
CB Aaron Glenn
CB Quincy Butler
RB Arliss Beach
DT Remi Ayodele
G Trey Darilek
OL Matt Tarullo
RB Alonzo Coleman
FB Lousaka Polite
DE Marcus Smith
posted by The Gryphon at 8:01 PM
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