Report: Cowboys release DT Dontari Poe, CB Daryl Worley
The woeful Dallas Cowboys have made some personnel changes to fix their Swiss cheese defense.
No, they didn’t fire embattled defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. (At least not yet.) Instead, they shed some of their veteran defensemen who have been pretty dreadful this year.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys have released defensive tackle Dontari Poe and cornerback Daryl Worley. The decision to cut the veteran defenders arrived after the team attempted and failed to trade both players, according to the report.
The Cowboys had a week left before the Nov. 3 trade deadline to make the decision, but they reportedly didn’t want to wait to make these changes.
Dallas defense needs big changes
You can’t really blame Dallas for wanting to make big changes as soon as possible. Their defense has been absolutely atrocious. They’re giving up an average of 178.3 rushing yards per game, the most in the NFL by far. They’ve given up over 30 points in five of their seven games this season, so it’s not a surprise that they’re allowing more points on average than any other team in the NFL.
Poe has been completely ineffective this season, and he’s been given plenty of chances to not be. He has seven tackles and no sacks over 253 snaps, which just isn’t going to cut it. The 30-year-old signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Cowboys this offseason. Worley, 25, has also played a lot of snaps this season (246) but can’t seem to defend receivers, which is a big problem.
Cowboys already jettisoned one veteran
Trying to trade (or failing that, cut) Poe and Worley aren’t the first changes the Cowboys are making. On Tuesday they dealt veteran defensive end Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions for a conditional draft pick.
Griffen, 32, was great with the Minnesota Vikings, where he spent the first 10 seasons of his career. But that trend didn’t continue once he signed with the Cowboys this summer. Griffen has just 2.5 sacks over seven games in 2020, and Dallas decided that their defensive makeover would start with him.
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