Mariner Talk Chat Forum

Todd Archer ESPN Staff Writer

FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have released former first-round pick Taco Charlton.

..... the Cowboys cut ties with Charlton despite being on the hook for more than $1.8 million in guaranteed base salary over the next two years.

On Monday, Charlton posted -- and then deleted -- "Free me" on Twitter. He then tweeted, "Trust me the last thing I want to do is have to go to social media to get what I want so I can play football again."

The Cowboys had trade discussions with teams for Charlton, but nothing that prompted them to make a deal. Charlton was not on the field during the open portion of practice to the media Wednesday.

Charlton, the 28th overall pick in 2017, had four sacks in 27 games (seven starts) but was inactive for the first two games of this season. He had been a healthy scratch in four of the past six games, dating to the end of the 2018 regular season.

He was not able to find a consistent role in the rotation used by defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. Last year, Charlton missed three games because of a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery. He also had ankle surgery.

After a slow start to camp, he had two sacks this preseason but faced a numbers crunch with the Cowboys liking the work of last year's fourth-round pick, Dorance Armstrong, and this year's fifth-round pick, Joe Jackson, because of their versatility.

If Charlton is claimed by another team, the Cowboys would not owe him the guaranteed money. If he goes unclaimed and signs with another team at a lower salary, the Cowboys would be on the hook for the difference in the guaranteed money.

Michael K. wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 19, 2019 12:55 pm

Let me see, an under productive former first round pick that forced himself out off his old team and plays a position we aren't really in need of? Nope.