Taco Charlton Released By The Dallas Cowboys, Looks For A Fresh Start

By Jordan Long

The Dallas Cowboys are preparing to take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday.  Kickoff is at 11 A.M. Mountain Time.  Dallas decided the best move for the team moving forward is to release defensive end Taco Charlton. 

                The Cowboys drafted Charlton 28^th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.  They hoped Charlton would improve the defensive line by rushing the quarterback to pressure and hopefully sack him.  These sacks were going to push the opponents’ offense back and improve the Cowboys’ offensive field position when they punted.

                Charlton’s rookie year, the Cowboys saw glimpses of why they drafted him.  He put pressure on the quarterbacks and brought them down with 3 sacks.  Charlton ended up with 19 tackles and helped Dallas become the 8^th best team in the NFL stopping the run, giving up 104 yards per game.

                Last season expectations were even higher for him.  Unfortunately, Charlton didn’t live up to them.  He dressed in 11 games and Dallas made him a healthy scratch for the games Charlton didn’t appear in.  In those games Charlton had 1 sack and 27 tackles.

                This year Charlton hasn’t seen the field for the Cowboys.  They made him inactive for the past two weeks.  Dallas tried to trade Charlton, but nobody seemed interested in acquiring the defensive end.   Dallas had no choice but to cut ties with him.

                Charlton now has a chance to have a fresh start with another team.  He has shown flashes of what he can do at the NFL level.  A team should take a gamble on him because Charlton might be able to help a team’s run defense.   He can also rush the quarterback which could end up in sacks or even turnovers. 

                It might be a while before Charlton is picked up.  Teams have already prepared for their games this week.  He may have to wait until next week or if a team suffers a major injury on the defensive line, but he should be signed soon.

                For Dallas it was the right decision to move on.  He was not fitting into defensive coordinator’s Rodney Marinelli defense.  It showed since he didn’t have that many opportunities to play.  If Charlton is picked up by another team, Dallas won’t have to pay him. Now that he is gone, Dallas can focus on winning the Super Bowl this season.